Lenovo Isn’t Holding Up Its End Of The Deal In Regards To WWAN Patents
Things are getting heated for both Lenovo and Motorola over in Germany. A smartphone can barely be called a smartphone if it can’t connect to cellular networks (AKA, a WWAN), and to do that, it needs to have a piece of hardware inside that’s called a WWAN module. These WWAN modules weren’t originally designed by the same companies making the phones, and are instead, made using patents from third parties. A lot of mobile technology is like this.
In Lenovo and Motorola‘s cases, the source of its WWAN modules is an American company called InterDigital, which owns the patent. The WWAN tech being used in several of the products from the two companies, including the Edge 50 family that recently launched, utilizes InterDigital patents and Lenovo is meant to pay this company an agreed licensing fee. That’s the way patent business works (otherwise, you’ve got to go out and make your own entirely unique implementation, which isn’t worth it for most).
Well, apparently, the entire dispute is simply around the fact that Lenovo and InterDigital have failed to agree on a licensing fee for the latter’s technology. Apparently, Lenovo has paid something, but InterDigital doesn’t see the price paid as being reasonable. Lenovo says essentially the same about the amount InterDigital is requesting.
Lenovo And Motorola Get Hit With A Heavy Sales Ban In Germany As A Result
Well, this entire saga was taken to the Munich I District Court in Germany, and this month, the court ruled in favor of InterDigital (though of course, Lenovo plans to appeal the judgment). The result of the judgment? An immediate German sales ban of all Lenovo, and by extension, Motorola, products that are WWAN-enabled. As long as a phone can take in a SIM card and use a mobile network, it can’t be sold in the country. This means a lot of phones, many tablets, and a few laptops here and there.
To comply, both companies have removed affected products from their online storefronts. Sure, there are still some of these products left on shelves and they can continue to be sold, but once the current stock is sold out, retailers won’t be allowed to restock.
Pending an appeal, Lenovo choosing to settle with InterDigital and pay them an acceptable fee for licensing seems like the easiest way to open the German market back up. Otherwise, German consumers shouldn’t expect to find any Lenovo or Motorola devices on sale.
