Why are Oppo and OnePlus stopping smartphone sales in Germany?
Oppo and OnePlus have stopped selling smartphones and smartwatches in Germany after a court case against Nokia. Issue: The use of 4G and 5G technologies is considered illegal. France is not worried.
The news is surprising: Oppo and OnePlus, two well-established brands in the European tech landscape, are ceasing smartphone and smartwatch sales in Germany. Here’s what we learned from the article 9 to 5 Google given this rather odd situation.
Indeed, if you take a look at the German websites of these two brands, both of which belong to the Oplus group, you will find that they are quite empty. For example, Oppo no longer has any sections that lead to product introductions, their features, or even purchase links. For comparison, on the manufacturer’s French website ” smartphones “and other” Combined objectss” for connected watches and wireless headphones.
On the side of the German OnePlus website, everything still looks normal at first glance. But on the side of the online store, look in the smartphone section, there is nothing there.
Same story for closed watches. However, don’t worry a priori on other product types.
Why are Oppo and OnePlus stopping smartphone sales in Germany?
Frankly, we wonder what could cause such a situation. The answer should be sought on the side of German justice. Indeed, a legal case has been filed against Nokia Oppo and OnePlus. It should be noted that the Nokia brand is not only used in the smartphone market. It is also and above all a very important group in the telecommunications sector and among other things in the 4G and 5G infrastructures.
However, the Finnish company attacked Oppo and OnePlus, accusing them of illegally using 4G and 5G technologies. So the two manufacturers were accused of not paying Nokia the relevant licenses, which is definitely a violation. In other words, it would be intellectual property theft. However, Oppo appealed against the first decision, but despite this attempt, the Mannheim court upheld the first sanction.
At that time, the risk of deportation in Germany already threatened the sales of Oppo and OnePlus smartphones. It seems that this risk has materialized.
Oppo’s answer
We contacted the French subsidiaries of Oppo and OnePlus in this regard. The first answered us and was justified in particular by pointing the finger at a slightly urban attitude on the part of Nokia.
As the holder of numerous 5G patents, Oppo values the role of intellectual property in innovation. We are accustomed to entering into cross-licensing agreements with many leading companies and are committed to promoting a healthy intellectual property ecosystem. A day after Oppo and Nokia’s 4G deal ended, Nokia immediately took legal action after charging unreasonably high renewal fees.
In addition, Oppo claims that it has already taken the necessary steps to return to normal, underlining the temporary nature of this suspension.
Our long-term commitment to the German market remains unchanged and we are actively working with affected parties to resolve the ongoing issue. Apart from the temporary suspension of sales and marketing of the affected products through Oppo-owned channels, Oppo will continue to operate in Germany. During this period, users can continue to use Oppo products, access after-sales services, receive future OS updates, etc.
France is not worried
Another legal question: does the temporary suspension of sales affect France? No, Oppo answers. ” Other markets are not affected. This directive is limited to the temporary suspension of sales and marketing of the affected products through Oppo-owned channels in Germany. “.
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