HTC has listed all of its mobile devices as ‘out of stock’ on its website. The company had earlier promised to develop a workaround for its devices so that they didn't infringe on a patent held by the German firm, Ipcom. HTC made its products unavailable after Ipcom ran tests and revealed no workaround had been developed at all.
Ipcom is a research and development company that has been tussling with HTC over the last decade due to a patent it holds regarding wireless technology developed by Bosch for an in-car telephone system that it sold in 2007, now Ipcom owns that patent and has been using it since 2009 to go after HTC.
Commenting on the matter, an HTC spokesperson said:
“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.”
Ipcom slammed HTC saying that it wasn’t playing by the rules and showed a “disregard for the law by contravening a UK court ruling”.
HTC’s ability to sell its mobile phones in the UK was already hindered by the fact that Carphone Warehouse, O2, and EE had already stopped selling its devices. Those who want to purchase an HTC phone in the UK now have to go to Amazon or find another retailer that still sells them.
Until the matter is resolved, the phone maker probably won’t put its phones back on sale but it will continue to sell its range of virtual reality products and the HTC 5G Hub.
Source: BBC News
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