The HTC One Mini has been banned for sale in the UK after a High Court judge found that the firm had infringed on Nokia’s European patent that describes a ‘modular structure for a transmitter and a mobile station’.
HTC had tried to dispute the case, saying that its microchips found to infringe Nokia’s patent were a "very small component" and therefore did not justify a ban. It also claimed that HTC is not in competition with Nokia in the UK as the devices in question run on different operating systems, with the HTC One Mini using Google’s Android and Nokia’s devices running the Windows Phone OS.
However, Nokia dismissed these arguments, claiming that it has "lost sales of Lumia phones since the launch of the One range."
According to court documents. HTC sold 715,000 smartphones worth about £221 million in the UK between January and September 2013.
Judge Arnold said in his ruling that blocking UK sales of the One would cause "considerable" damage to HTC’s UK business.
HTC has until 4pm on the 6th December to apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal against Justice Arnold’s ruling.
A HTC spokeperson said: "HTC is pleased by the decision of the High Court of England and Wales to stay an injunction against certain chipsets, including those in our flagship HTC One, pending the outcome of our appeal."
"Whilst the Court also granted an injunction that affects other third party chipsets, we have filed urgent application to appeal. In the meantime, we are working with our chip suppliers to explore alternative solutions. As always, HTC’s primary focus is on supporting our customers and ensuring minimal disruption to them and our business. Rest assured that our award winning HTC One handset will be available as usual."
