The Delhi High Court in an interim order has restrained Xiaomi from selling its handsets in India. The HC order follows complaints from telecom network vendor Ericsson that alleged that Xiaomi is using a mobile technology patented by Ericsson.
The reasons given for the injunction against Xiaomi was the lack of response to Ericsson’s requests the Swedish company had made six requests since July 2014.
Ericsson said that Xiaomi has violated its eight patents pertaining to AMR, EDGE and 3G technologies in the field of telecommunications. Ericsson, which has filed similar cases against Micromax, has said that it had invited Xiaomi to use its patented technology by obtaining a license, but instead of doing so, the Chinese manufacturer launched its devices in India in July 2014.
Xiaomi’s global vice president Higo Barra said in a letter that the company has “been forced to suspend sales in India until further notice due to an order passed by the Delhi High Court.” “As a law abiding company, we are investigating the matter carefully and assessing our legal options,” he added.
Xiaomi had earlier put its plans for expansion into other markets on hold to focus on India and Indonesia, and this wrench in its plans will definitely affect its bottom line. So it’s expected that Xiaomi will settle to quickly get back on track in India.
On 12th evening Hugo on behalf of the Mi India team writes to Indian fans.
We have been committed to continue our sales of Redmi Note and Redmi 1S devices in India. In the last 2 days alone, we received about 150,000 registrations for Redmi Note on Flipkart and the momentum has been terrific.
However, we have been forced to suspend sales in India until further notice due to an order passed by the Delhi High Court. As a law abiding company, we are investigating the matter carefully and assessing our legal options.
Our sincere apologies to all Indian Mi fans! Please rest assured that we’re doing all we can to revert the situation. We have greatly enjoyed our journey with you in India over the last 5 months and we firmly intend to continue it!
Stay tuned for more information.
Hugo
(on behalf of the Mi India team)
