HTC banned from selling smartphones through Deutsche Telekom

HTC may have hit a six-month high revenue in November helped by the latest HTC One A9, but it recently lost a legal battle in Germany, which may cost the company a lot. Later this month HTC will have to cease all smartphone sales through Deutsche Telekom AG.

Apparently HTC was sued over patent infringement and lost the battle. The Texas-based Acacia Research Group, a patent licensing company, was granted an injunction against HTC smartphones sold through Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) in Germany. The infringed patent concerns voice coding technology.

The ban will be applied later this month so the HTC phones are still available through Deutsche Telekom. Meanwhile HTC is working on a solution in order to avoid actual sales halt.

Deutsche Telekom is a German Telecommunications company, which owns many carriers around the globe and the German government is its biggest shareholder. If HTC doesn't succeed into resolving the issues (paying for the patents), there is a good chance Acacia pursuits the same injunctions over other Deutsche Telekom-related carriers, which will be a huge blow for the struggling HTC.

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