Nokia has caused a ban on Oppo and OnePlus phones in Germany. They could soon be banned across the EU

Phones sold by Oppo and OnePlus have been withdrawn from sale in Germany and could be banned in other European countries. The reason is a lawsuit filed by Nokia, which accuses the Chinese smartphone maker of using patented technology without a license. Already a court in Mannheim has ruled in Nokia’s favour, and now the Finnish company is seeking similar rulings in France, Finland, Sweden, Spain, the UK and the Netherlands.

Oppo says Nokia charges too much for patent licensing

The dispute between Nokia and Oppo has been going on for a few years now, and is related to 4G technologies for which the Finnish company holds several patents covering technologies in Oppo phones. The decision in Mannheim was handed down during July, and as of 5 August, Oppo and OnePlus are no longer allowed to sell smartphones in Germany. In fact, the companies say they won’t withdraw from Germany, keeping on sale devices not covered by these patents, such as headphones. Users of Oppo devices in Germany, however, will not be affected.

The reason Oppo is refusing to pay for the patents is that Nokia is asking for too much money to renew the contract. According to WinFuture, Nokia is reportedly asking for €2.5 for each smartphone sold, and the contract should be an international one, covering the company’s entire smartphone portfolio.

Nokia isn’t just stopping at Oppo and OnePlus, though. Lawsuits in other countries are also calling other companies in the BBK Electronics portfolio, such as Realme and Vivo, to court. If the court in France reaches a similar conclusion to the German court, Nokia could block all sales of BBK smartphones in all EU countries until they agree to pay for licenses to use the patents.

Recently, Nokia phones also faced a similar situation, as they were pulled from sale in Germany, where a company called VoiceAgeEVS LLC accused HMD Global, the company that licenses the brand for use in smartphone development, of infringing patents related to VoLTE technology.