Indian Court Bans Xiaomi Sales And Imports

Chinese smartphone and tablet maker Xiaomi has seen sales of its cheap devices surge in developing nations. India is one of the places where the company has seen its sales blossom in recent months. That sales success has now come to a halt with an Indian court in New Delhi issuing an order that forbids Xiaomi to sell or import its products into the country.

Reports from the country indicate that the order bans Xiaomi from selling, advertising, manufacturing, or importing devices into India that infringe on standard essential patents held by Ericsson India, the company who filed the original case against Xiaomi.

The judge resigning over the case has instructed customs officials to stop imports of devices from Xiaomi under IPR Rules, 2007. The court also appointed local commissioners to visit the Xiaomi India offices and ensure that the order has been carried out. Ericsson says that it has repeatedly tried to open communications with Xiaomi to settle the patent issue.

Indian courts have previously ruled for Ericsson in similar patent cases. One Indian handset maker called Micromax was forced to pay royalties to Ericsson of up to 1% of the selling price of devices for using the firm's patents in its devices. India is the second largest market in the world for Xiaomi and you can bet it will want to settle the case as soon as possible. We mentioned earlier this month that Xiaomi is rumored to start selling devices in the US next year.

SOURCE: Times of India