Foreign media disclosed the details of OPPO's counterattack against Nokia, and the German court has filed a case

According to the news from Jiwei.com, recently, according to the foreign media Foss Patent, OPPO's counter-suit against Nokia for infringement of four 5G patents has been filed by the courts of Mannheim, Munich and Hamburg in Germany. Interestingly, among the above-mentioned lawsuits, Mannheim and Munich were also the courts chosen by Nokia to sue OPPO, while Hamburg is another front opened by OPPO.

The Nokia v. OPPO case is currently the largest patent dispute centered on 5G. Previous news showed that Nokia had filed dozens of lawsuits against OPPO in 9 countries at the same time. With such a big move, Nokia not only values ​​the huge shipments represented by OPPO itself, but also paves the way for the 5G licensing model. In fact, in addition to OPPO, whose licensing agreement has expired, Nokia is about to usher in large-scale renewals with manufacturers such as Samsung and Apple. Forcing OPPO to accept licensing terms that are beneficial to itself is Nokia's way to clear obstacles to subsequent negotiations and even avoid potential disputes.

However, OPPO is obviously different from Nokia's previous opponents. As Foss Patents commented on the case: "First, OPPO has never had a history of infringement; second, OPPO itself is a more mature and effective litigant than Daimler and its first-tier suppliers... OPPO cannot be ignored. Instead of letting others manipulate it, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer fought back."

OPPO's countersuit against Nokia for infringement of four 5G patents has been filed by a German court

In June this year, the patent licensing agreement between Nokia and OPPO expired and the two parties entered a new negotiation cycle. It seems that the two parties failed to reach an agreement on 5G patent licensing. In July, Nokia launched a lightning attack and filed patent infringement lawsuits against OPPO in multiple jurisdictions including India, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Judging from the information disclosed by foreign media about the patent weapons used by Nokia, the place of prosecution, and the target of prosecution, Nokia's attack this time was clearly well prepared.

As the initiator of patent litigation, Nokia is not only difficult to deal with because of its huge patent accumulation, but also because it holds a large number of mobile communication patents but has withdrawn from the mobile phone manufacturing market. This means that mobile phone manufacturers cannot form cross-licenses with Nokia during negotiations, and cannot use mobile phone patents to counter-sue Nokia.

However, OPPO is obviously not an ordinary patent implementer. After years of accumulation, OPPO's patent reserves have leapt into the ranks of global leaders. In the past two years, it has also demonstrated strong litigation capabilities in a series of lawsuits against Sharp, Sisvel and others. Even in the face of Nokia's sudden attack, OPPO is capable of making a strong counterattack. Jiwei.com learned that OPPO has filed patent infringement counterclaims against Nokia in multiple judicial regions including China and Germany. The latest news shows that four lawsuits have been filed in the courts of Mannheim, Munich and Hamburg in Germany. Among them, Mannheim and Munich in Germany are also the places chosen by Nokia to sue OPPO. Hamburg is another front opened up by OPPO in Europe. Foss Patents judged that "the Hamburg Regional Court is a dark horse in the enforcement of standard essential patents (SEPs)."

It is worth mentioning that the four patents EP3624524, EP3547772, EP3563600, and EP3557938 used by OPPO in its countersuit against Nokia were all originally applied for by OPPO, not acquired. All four patents are related to 5G base stations. Considering that OPPO does not have a base station business, this is obviously a precautionary measure for Nokia, Ericsson and other rights holders who only have base station businesses.

Although the four patents are very "young" and still within the European patent opposition period, Nokia is also likely to file an opposition application. However, according to the procedure, the European Patent Office will not even file a case during the opposition period. Foss Patents mentioned: "OPPO's infringement case will almost certainly be decided before the EPO's opposition review department makes any preliminary validity assessment."

These signs show that OPPO is also well prepared for this "lightning counterattack" and has made an excellent response.

This is a dispute that is bound to escalate.

In fact, this is a dispute that was destined to escalate from the beginning. The huge mobile phone shipments represented by OPPO may even be just one of the reasons why Nokia took action against OPPO. According to foreign media reports, in addition to OPPO, Nokia will also usher in major contract renewals with Samsung and Apple.

For Nokia, a quick licensing agreement with OPPO (on terms that are favorable to Nokia) would avoid additional negotiations and potential litigation. That is why Nokia launched this lawsuit, which is far more aggressive than any other lawsuit.

Similarly, the arrival of the 5G era is also an opportunity for patent implementers, especially mobile phone manufacturers, to compete for the right to speak. In addition to OPPO, which is fighting against Nokia, the battle between Ericsson and Apple is also going on around the world. Coupled with the brief confrontation between Ericsson and Samsung before, the game around 5G patent licensing has been widely carried out between patent right holders and implementers.

Even Apple is questioning the unreasonable patent fees of Nokia and Ericsson. How can Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, whose patent fees account for a higher proportion of revenue and have lower profit margins, accept such "self-talk" by the rights holders? Without Huawei standing in the way, OPPO and Xiaomi have been pushed to the forefront of the 5G licensing fee game. As a company with the second-highest patent strength after Huawei among domestic manufacturers, OPPO has accidentally and inevitably taken on this heavy responsibility.

Therefore, OPPO cannot retreat either. According to Jiwei.com, in addition to the multiple patent infringement lawsuits that have just been filed in the courts of Mannheim, Munich, and Hamburg, Germany, OPPO has also filed patent lawsuits against Nokia in multiple courts in China. The patents involved are all 5G base station patents. The attitude of strong confrontation is fully revealed.

“OPPO is a more mature litigant”

More importantly, OPPO is indeed capable of fighting Nokia. In the past six months, OPPO has reached successful settlements with Sisvel and Sharp. Before the settlements, neither the international NPE Sisvel nor the established mobile phone manufacturer Sharp had won any of the battles they had initiated. This shows OPPO's strength in patent litigation. In particular, the settlement with Sharp, where OPPO successfully reached a cross-licensing agreement, also indirectly confirmed the quality of OPPO's patents.

In the confrontation with Nokia, OPPO was able to initiate countersuits in multiple jurisdictions around the world, and the patent weapon used was the 5G base station patent "tailor-made" for Nokia, which is a clear proof of OPPO's patent strength. Based on this, Foss Patents called OPPO "a more mature litigant."

More importantly, OPPO has no history of patent infringement so far. Public information shows that OPPO has reached patent licensing agreements with many patent holders such as Qualcomm, Dolby, Ericsson, and NTT DOCOMO. Nokia was also one of OPPO's partners in the patent field. The agreement between the two parties just expired, and there is no sign that OPPO refused to negotiate. OPPO has also reiterated its attitude of respecting intellectual property rights more than once. As Feng Ying, senior director of its intellectual property department, said when OPPO announced the licensing agreement with NTT DOCOMO: "OPPO has always advocated the establishment of a healthy intellectual property ecosystem and advocated the resolution of intellectual property disputes through friendly negotiations."

According to the practice of handling standard essential patent litigation in Europe, as long as the defendant proves its sincerity in obtaining a patent license, the court generally will not issue an injunction. An injunction is the most powerful means in patent litigation. OPPO's good patent licensing record and the fact that Nokia initiated the lawsuit at lightning speed make it hard to believe that OPPO lacks sincerity in obtaining a patent license. This is also one of OPPO's advantages against Nokia.

Obviously, OPPO is different from Nokia's previous opponents, and the outcome of Nokia's patent war is still unknown. Jiwei.com will continue to pay attention to the subsequent development of this case.