Patent dispute forces HTC to stop selling smartphones in the UK

by Joshua Swingle / Aug 05, 2019, 2:54 PM

Patent dispute forces HTC to stop selling smartphones in the UK

The HTC U11

HTC has been struggling to compete in the smartphone market for quite some time and it seems like thing aren’t getting any better. The company has halted all sales in the UK due to an ongoing patent dispute.

Way back in 2012, a court found HTC had infringed upon a patent help by R&D company Ipcom which covered a wireless technology developed for car phones. The Taiwanese company was advised to implement a workaround, something it subsequently implemented, but Ipcom now claims HTC’s no longer complying with the original court order.

Munich-based Ipcom says it carried out tests earlier this year which clearly showed HTC’s Desire 12 didn’t include the promised workaround. As such, it has concluded that HTC has failed to “play by the rules” and displayed “disregard for the law by contravening a UK court ruling.”

In response, HTC has taken steps to ensure it complies with the original court order and has therefore halted all sales in the UK. This means that the Desire 12/12+, U12 Life, U12+, and U11 can no longer be purchased through the company’s website, retailer Carphone Warehouse, or local carriers such as EE, Vodafone, and O2.

Speaking to the BBC, a spokeswoman said the that “as a leading innovator, HTC takes intellectual property issues very seriously. We are proactively investigating an infringement claim by a third party with respect to a single handset model."

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9 Comments

1. User123456789

Posts: 818; Member since: Feb 22, 2019

If this happens to Apple , the other opponent company would lose in court

posted on Aug 05, 2019, 3:51 PM 3

3. toukale

Posts: 624; Member since: Jun 10, 2015

Apple is related to this how? Some just can't live without Apple, Where did Apple touch you?

posted on Aug 05, 2019, 7:01 PM 1

4. User123456789

Example. How many companies tried to sue Apple and lost despite being right? I say that if it was Apple instead HTC, this would not happen. By the way, I use iPAD

posted on Aug 05, 2019, 7:26 PM 1

7. mrochester

Posts: 978; Member since: Aug 17, 2014

Zero? Apple would lose when they are wrong and win when they are right.

posted on Aug 06, 2019, 12:17 AM 0

5. iloveapps

Posts: 855; Member since: Mar 21, 2019

Thanks for bringing up Apple every time. Apple sued by morons who wants $billions cash.

posted on Aug 05, 2019, 8:09 PM 0

2. shnibz

Posts: 509; Member since: Sep 18, 2011

Let's be real...they weren't selling any anyway.

posted on Aug 05, 2019, 4:07 PM 2

6. JcHnd

Posts: 275; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

Woooow... What would they do without selling those 2 phones... A year!

posted on Aug 05, 2019, 10:04 PM 1

8. tokuzumi

Posts: 1865; Member since: Aug 27, 2009

HTC will be disappearing soon. Kind of sad how far they've fallen. They are this decade's Blackberry. 2010, they were on top of the world, and now they have laid off most of their staff, and sold off whatever had any value.