World's top 3 smartphone maker Xiaomi is again on a hot seat as it is going through patent issues with Swedish network equipment vendor Ericsson. The ongoing patent battles between the 2 tech giants has disrupted Xiaomi's international expansion, particularly in India, where all its products, particularly the Redmi 1S, are selling like hotcakes.
Xiaomi said that it has been in talks with Ericsson to resolve the matter, but the Swedish company will definitely not make it easy for the Apple of China without financial cost. We remember that Xiaomi has only been operating for 4 years but it quickly rose to fame because of their low-cost but high quality products. To date, it is not only the number one smartphone company in its home country China, but also became world's 3rd top smartphone maker at the 3rd quarter of 2014.
IDC's analyst Xiaohan Tay said that there are repercussions to Xiaomi's patent issues with Ericsson. "If Xiaomi is willing to pay for the licensing fees to Ericsson, the issue can be resolved," said Xiaohan Tay. "But the higher cost for smartphones may be passed on to consumers, and Xiaomi may not be able to offer phones at such a low cost to consumers anymore."
In the meantime, Indian Intellectual Property blog Spicy IP has reported that the Delhi High Court has prohibited Xiaomi from "importing and selling" its devices in India after finding out about its infringement of patents from Ericsson. Xiaomi's Vice President for International Relations Hugo Barra wrote a letter to Xiaomi fans and posted it on his personal Facebook page addressing the issue:
** A Letter to Indian Mi Fans **
Dear Mi fans,
We have been committed to continue our sales of Redmi Note and Redmi 1S devices in India. In the last 2 days alone, we received about 150,000 registrations for Redmi Note on Flipkart and the momentum has been terrific.
However, we have been forced to suspend sales until further notice due to an order passed by the Delhi High Court. As a law abiding company, we are investigating the matter carefully and assessing our legal options.
Our sincere apologies to all Indian Mi fans! Please rest assured that we're doing all we can to revert the situation. We have greatly enjoyed our journey with you in India over the last 5 months and we firmly intend to continue it!
Stay tuned for more information.
Hugo
(on behalf of the Mi India team)
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