The Finnish company Nokia, known for its cell phones and communication technologies, has undergone a legal defeat in France against the Chinese smartphone maker OPPO. The French court invalidated two Nokia patents that had been used to accuse OPPO of infringement.
Nokia loses patent battle against OPPO in France
The two patents concerned the adaptive modulation in 3G networks, a technique that allows you to optimize data transmission based on channel conditions. Nokia claimed that OPPO used this technology without paying the royalties due.
However, the French court held that Nokia's patents were devoid of inventive step, i.e. that they did not present any novelty or improvement with respect to the state of the art. The court then declared the patents null and void ordered Nokia to pay OPPO 400.000 euros in legal fees.
This ruling is a major blow to Nokia, which is trying to defend its patent portfolio and get some revenue from it. Nokia has filed several lawsuits against OPPO in various countries, including Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In Germany, the district court of Mannheim agreed with Nokia in June this year, ordering OPPO to stop selling its devices that infringed Nokia's EP2087626 patent. However, later, the Appeal Board of the European Patent Office (EPO) canceled this patent, casting doubt on the validity of the ruling.
If Nokia fails to reach an agreement with OPPO within the specified time, and if the German Federal Patent Court upholds the invalidity of Nokia's patents, Nokia will face a compensation claim from OPPO, which could be much higher than the €400.000 demanded by the French court.
OPPO, on the other hand, can celebrate its victory in France, which strengthens its position in the European smartphone market. OPPO is one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, with a global market share of 10% in the second quarter of 2021, according to data from research firm Counterpoint. OPPO is also a leader in the research and development of 5G technologies, with over 3.000 patents related to this area.
