Products belonging to Taiwanese smartphone and tablet manufacturer HTC have been seized at a German airport because of an ongoing 3G patent dispute.
During the firm's 3G patent infringement trial between HTC and IPCom in a German court, it stated that some of its shipments into Germany were seized by customs at the Frankfurt-Hahn airport between February 4 and February 10. HTC said there is currently no shortage of its devices in the German market.
It comes after German patent regulation and monetization firm IPCom applied for a warrant to have HTC's 3G-enabled smartphones held at the border, as they allegedly violate its patents.
As well as citing the aforementioned seizure, HTC reminded the court that the Munich-based IPComto attempted to have police seize handsets during last year's CeBIT trade. It said such actions from the firm are efforts to bully HTC into accepting its patent-licensing terms.
Five years ago, IPCom sued both HTC and Nokia following its purchase of a portfolio of wireless patents from Robert Bosch GmbH, which is a former manufacturer of wireless handsets. The majority of patents included in the deal relate to cellular telecommunications standards, including 3G technology.
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Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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fnh Why is it that it looks like the Germans are more forceful in enforcing patent issues (by that I mean sales bans/and now seizures)? The Americans are locked in courts, but the Germans seem to move with law enforcement much more readily.Reply -
abbadon_34 God I hope this was a commercial shipment of 1000's of units, not some guy with one in his pocket...Reply -
abbadon_34 Great now we have to fear traveling through Germany with an improperly patented device.Reply
"You e-papers please..." -
velocityg4 What I want to know. Did HTC make the radio chip or somebody else used in the handset? If somebody else why would HTC be involved in this? Shouldn't it be between IPCom and the chip manufacturer?Reply -
ddpruitt abbadon_34God I hope this was a commercial shipment of 1000's of units, not some guy with one in his pocket...Reply
Literacy, it's difficult isn't it?
it stated that some of its shipments into Germany were seized by customs at the Frankfurt-Hahn airport
RTFA, they're only seizing HTC's shipments, they're not seizing devices from individuals.
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Marco925 ddpruittLiteracy, it's difficult isn't it?RTFA, they're only seizing HTC's shipments, they're not seizing devices from individuals.Dude, you don't need to insult the other member, geez, take a chill pillReply