Just a few days ago, Motorola announced a slew of new budget devices and we talked about them over here. For a company that has just unveiled new smartphones, the last thing they want is bad press of any kind, but unfortunately, it seems like that’s what Motorola is going to have to deal with.
In a preliminary ruling, the US International Trade Commission has just found that the smartphones that Lenovo manufactures under its Motorola brand infringe on patents owned by Ericsson. If the final ruling sticks to this, then that could mean Motorola phones being banned in the US, as we’ve seen in other countries.
A Preliminary Ruling Finds That Motorola’s Phone Infringe On Patents Owned By Ericsson
As an inventor, if you make a unique product or a solution to a problem, you have the right to patent it. That essentially makes it yours. If another company requires that solution in their product, they’ll need to pay you since you essentially thought of it first. If they don’t pay you (or pay less than they should) but still use the concept of your invention, they’re infringing or violating your patent.
Now that that’s out of the way, that’s exactly what Motorola has been found guilty of in a preliminary ruling by the US International Trade Commission. Some of the 5G wireless technology being used in Motorola devices is deemed to violate patents owned by Ericsson, which took Lenovo (Motorola’s parent company) to court over it.
That’s not a good look for Motorola, especially after it just announced a batch of new budget smartphones a few days ago. This isn’t the kind of press the company wants.
This Is Not The First Patent Battle Lenovo And Motorola Are Dealing With In 2024
Unfortunately for Lenovo, and consequently Motorola, this isn’t even the first time that the company has found itself in the news over mishaps with patents. Lenovo is currently engaged in patent disputes with Ericsson in South America and the UK as well.
Earlier this year, the company faced a sales ban in Germany due to the fact that it was infringing patents owned by an entirely different company, InterDigital. That’s not a good look for the company as it hardly seems eager to play fair and pay what it rightfully should.
However, Lenovo’s statement in response to the preliminary statement points to them believing that Ericcson’s fees are unreasonably high and unfair. I guess the courts will decide on that part.
The Final Ruling Could Potentially See Motorola’s Phones Being Banned From Sale In The US
At the moment, the case has only resulted in a preliminary ruling. Even though that ruling deems that Motorola infringed on patents, no action is going to be taken yet, so you can still buy Motorola phones in the United States without a problem at all. However, the case will receive a final ruling, expected in April 2025, and that’s when things could really hit the fan for the Lenovo-owned smartphone OEM.
The worst-case scenario for Motorola is that it will have to stop selling its smartphones in the United States, which could be a massive blow for the company. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait and see whether that’ll end up as the case.
