Earlier in April this year, the district court of Mannheim, Germany ruled a patent case in favor of Nokia against Vivo. However, the Chinese brand was working to resolve the dispute with Nokia on fair terms. The Finnish company had previously won cases against OPPO and OnePlus which resulted in the ban on the sale of the brand’s devices in the country. Now, Vivo has become the third company to be affected by the patent dispute ruled in favor of Nokia. The patent infringement case comes from Nokia, the Finnish equipment supplier, and not HMD Global which owns Nokia’s smartphone business.
Vivo closes its online store in Germany
Vivo has apparently infringed a patent related to WLAN connections in its smartphones. The German courts have ruled this dispute in favor of Nokia. This is the same cause of action that affected OPPO and OnePlus. Vivo could have continued to sell its phones in Germany by working out a licensing agreement with Nokia, but the company decided to opt-out.
Due to the patent infringement case, Vivo has shut down its website in Germany. This means that customers in the country won’t be able to buy the brand’s products anymore for the foreseeable future.
Vivo’s Germany website has put a short note on its main page that possibly hints at a goodbye. The translated text reads that Vivo products and information about them are not available on their German website. Existing Vivo users can continue to rely on their customer service and also receive future software updates.
It’s worth noting that Vivo’s German website does not explicitly mention the reason of its store closure and if the move is temporary or permanent.
Related:
- Vivo Y27 5G spotted on EEC certification, hints at an imminent launch
- Vivo Y36 4G Indian launch timeline, price range, specs & color options tipped
- Vivo S17 series on sale in China starting at $350
