On June 21st, Gizcoupon reported that, as reported by international media outlet Nextpit, realme will “slow down” its operations in the German market following Nokia’s patent lawsuit, following in the footsteps of OPPO and vivo.
Realme decides to “slow down” its business in the German market
Nextpit indicates that realme did not explicitly state their intention to withdraw from the German market in their communication with their editorial team. However, the outcome is expected to be similar. The office responsible for realme’s affairs in Europe stated that their operations in Germany have been “slowed down” due to internal consultations and pending litigation with Nokia. They are still awaiting positive news regarding licensing negotiations with Nokia in order to resume their marketing efforts in Germany.
In the meantime, they will be reallocating their budget to other European markets. Consequently, the recently released realme 11, realme 11 Pro, and realme 11 Pro+ may not appear on store shelves in Germany.
It is worth mentioning that vivo announced the suspension of its sales in Germany just a week ago. The official website of OPPO Germany has almost been emptied. The announcement on Vivo’s German website states, “Unfortunately, vivo products are currently unavailable in Germany. Therefore, there is no product information on our German website. If you are using vivo products, you can still rely on our customer service. Additionally, you will receive future software updates.”
OPPO and Nokia
Gizcoupon previously reported that in July 2022, a court in Mannheim, Germany, ruled that OPPO had infringed upon two of Nokia’s related technical patents. A month later, in August, a court in Munich, Germany, also ruled that OPPO had infringed upon two Nokia patents. Additionally, the court issued a sales injunction against OPPO and OnePlus branded smartphones.
OPPO ceased paying royalties to Nokia for the use of their patents after the contract expired in 2021. The mentioned patents belong to Nokia’s SEP (Standard Essential Patents) portfolio. It covers the use of 4G and 5G connectivity, as well as Wi-Fi scanning and security technologies. An OPPO representative previously stated, “The company firmly opposes unreasonable high fees for patents. Additionally, it strongly objects to malicious actions of using litigation to coerce licensees into negotiation and acceptance of unreasonably high license fees.”
