HTC One Mini to get sales ban due to patent infringement case ruling
Nokia is demanding a financial compensation from HTC for using its microchips
It appears that HTC One mini will stop selling in the UK due to an on-going violation case between Nokia and HTC. The judge ruled that after December 6, HTC won’t be permitted to sell their device since it contains chips that breach the patent of Nokia. He also delayed an injunction against HTC One mini so the company could have time to appeal. Meanwhile, the outcome hasn’t been decided yet; however Nokia is demanding a financial compensation from HTC for using its microchips.
According to the Taiwanese company, these chips are a very small component of their flagship and the sales ban isn’t justified. Stopping HTC One Mini from the UK market would cause damage to the company, as only between January and September, HTC has sold approximately 750 000 devices in the UK worth at least 220 million pounds. Despite arguing about the unjustified ban, the Taiwanese company accepted not to import additional HTC One Mini units on the UK market, however will appeal against the ban before a final decision is made.
HTC’s flagship HTC One entered the UK market in March, and few months later the company added their HTC One Mini and HTC One Max variants, that are the smaller and the larger versions of the model. It’s indeed bad news if the mini gets thrown overboard, since the device is a very good compromise between the top rated flagship’s specs and quality and a normal price that can be even considered budget-friendly. In short, people who want to buy the HTC One but can’t really afford it, go for the Mini.
In case the appeal isn’t successful, HTC will be required to remove their units from the UK. This means that if you guys consider buying an HTC One Mini smartphone in Britain, do it while you still can.
Source: Bloomberg
