On May 11, according to German media WirtchaftsWoche, Lenovo and Motorola all devices that support cellular networks (covering mobile phones, tablets and laptops that support mobile data) are currently banned in Germany. InterDigital, a U.S.-based mobile, video and artificial intelligence technology company, said it had received an injunction from a German court against Lenovo.
At present, Motorola's German official website only has the accessories (accessories) category
The Munich District Court ruled earlier this month that Lenovo and Motorola had infringed InterDigital's patents covering 4G and 5G devices. InterDigital has expressed its desire to provide licensing in a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) manner. Josh Schmidt, InterDigital's chief legal officer, said, "We hope that Lenovo will change course and ultimately accept a fair and reasonable license. ”
The ban is not yet fully legally enforceable, but InterDigital has chosen to enforce it temporarily by paying a security deposit of 4 million euros (currently about 31.16 million yuan). Lenovo and Motorola can still vacate the restraining order through the appeal process.
Like Samsung's lawsuit against Datang, Lenovo's lawsuit against Motorola and InterDigital focuses on the FRAND (fair and non-discriminatory terms) principle of patent licensing.
InterDigital claims that it is FRAND compliant with the royalty setup, but Lenovo-Motorola does not share this view. At the same time, there is no specific definition of what is FRAND principle within the EU, leaving room for patent litigation.
This is not the first time InterDigital and Lenovo-Motorola have gone to court over patent licensing fees: Public sources show that in March 2023, Judge James Mellor of the High Court in London, England, said in a written ruling that neither Lenovo nor InterDigital's previous offers were FRAND compliant. InterDigital has offered to lease Lenovo's six-year patent for $337 million.
Finally, the English High Court concluded that Lenovo should pay InterDigital a FRAND rate of $0.175 per cellular device for a global license of InterDigital's portfolio. The court's FRAND rate decision is closer to Lenovo's offer of $0.16 per device than InterDigital's request of $0.498 per device. As a result, Lenovo is required to make a one-time payment of $138.7 million to InterDigital at a licensing rate of $0.175 per device for its patent-based devices sold between 2007 and the end of 2023.
Source: Aijiwei, IT House
编辑：Sharon