HTC has been successful in appealing against a ban on the sale of its One range of smartphones in the UK. The ban came into force on Friday 6 December after a court case last week ruled that a chipset in HTC’s One Mini handset infringed a Nokia patent.
The ban on sales of HTC devices didn’t extend to the HTC One – regarded by some of the best Android phone of 2013 and given a five-star rating by Recombu – as the judge in the original court said it would severely impact HTC’s business in the critical pre-Christmas sales period. Had today’s appeal ruling gone against HTC, however, the HTC One would have been banned from UK sale too.
Commenting on the company’s successful appeal, HTC put out a statement this afternoon saying “HTC is delighted that the Court of Appeals has granted a stay on the injunction against our products. We will immediately resume shipment of all of our devices into the UK, including the entire HTC One family”.
The statement went on to say that HTC is actively seeking an alternative chip that won’t be subject to Nokia’s patent and that will ensure the ongoing availability of the HTC One family of phones. The appeal court ruling will no doubt be a relief to mobile operators and handset vendors who stock HTC’s smartphones and tablets and who will also have much to lose if they’re forced to clear their shelves of the handset range.
“Our customers should feel confident in their ability to promote and sell all HTC devices,” the statement went on to say.
Last week, the Nokia vs HTC court case made headlines when a line of argument pertaining to possible patent infringements in HTC’s next range of smartphones revealed that they are set to be unveiled in February and go onsale in March, a roadmap HTC was no doubt keen to keep under wraps.
–Rosemary Hattersley
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