Nokia Wins Dispute, Bans OPPO/ONEPLUS In Germany

The Mannheim Regional Court rules in favor of Nokia against its recent patent dispute with OPPO. To recap, Nokia sued OPPO in four different countries last year after failing to reach an agreement with the Chinese tech giant.

OPPO finds the lawsuit "shocking", countersuing Nokia in 9 different countries as a result. This is a first for Nokia Corporation with Apple Inc in 2009 being the last.

According to Juve Patent, this is the first ruling regarding the disputed patents related to 4G (LTE) and 5G Standard Essential Patents (SEPs). Nokia sued OPPO over nine SEPs and five implementation patents in three German regional courts including Munich and D¨¹sseldorf.

Nokia, being a leader in 5G SEPs, has invested a total of €129Bn in its R&D all throughout its years in business. Whilst the Finnish tech giant is currently just licensing its name for consumer products, its previous business yields some of the most sought-after patents in the industry. Last year, luxury car manufacturer, Daimler, has settled its high-profile patent litigation with Nokia, followed by China's Lenovo - both cross-border disputes spanned for over two years.

As for its dispute with OPPO, Nokia was granted a cease and desist order by the Mannheim Regional Court, resulting in an eventual ban of OPPO and OnePlus products in Germany. OPPO appealed this decision using FRAND objection but was dismissed by the judge finding OPPO as an unwilling licensee. The two patent infringement win for Nokia affixes its power in the industry it once ruled.

Representing Nokia is Bird & Bird in cooperation with Arnold Ruess and df-mp Dörries Frank-Molnia & Pohlman. Arnold Ruess represented Nokia during its Daimler dispute, while Bird & Bird stand for the company during its Lenovo lawsuit.