The Munich 1 Regional Court has ruled in favor of Nokia in its patent lawsuit against Oppo and OnePlus, implementing a nationwide sales ban on smartphones from the Chinese OEMs in Germany. The sales ban comes just weeks after the Mannheim district court ruled in favor of the Finnish networking giant, ordering the two parties to reach a settlement. Oppo reportedly refused to accept the renewal fee for its 4G cross-licensing agreement with Nokia, leading to the ban.

A report from Android Police on the matter reveals that Oppo has already removed all mentions of its smartphones and product listings from its German website. However, the company has clarified that existing users will be able to use their smartphones without any restrictions and receive support and all future updates. OnePlus is yet to update its website homepage, but the company has disabled smartphone product listings in the region. German buyers will still be able to purchase Oppo and OnePlus smartphones from third-party retailers, but only till stocks last.

Screenshot of Oppo's German website.

A separate report from WinFuture reveals that Oppo and OnePlus refused to accept Nokia's licensing renewal fee, as it would've required the companies to pay €2.50 per smartphone sold worldwide. Since the German market accounts for a small fraction of Oppo and OnePlus' total smartphone sales, it was more prudent for the companies to exit the market than accept Nokia's renewal fees.

Oppo and OnePlus are estimated to have a 10% market share in Germany, and the companies ship around two million smartphones in the region annually. As such, the sales ban will not only affect the Chinese smartphone OEMs but might also lead to a shortage of Android smartphones for German buyers.

Nokia has filed similar lawsuits against other BBK Electronics-owned companies, like Realme and Vivo, in Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, Spain, the UK, and the Netherlands. If the courts rule in Nokia's favor, it might secure a sales ban on smartphones from all BBK Electronics-owned brands across Western Europe and the UK.

Via: Android Police, WinFuture