The Delhi High Court has fined Oppo Rs. 5 lakh in a patent dispute with InterDigital and warned of a potential sales ban if pending royalties aren’t deposited. The penalty stems from Oppo’s delays in the case. The court expedited the trial, setting a 2024 conclusion deadline, with additional funds required if not met by December 2024.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
DELHI: On Friday, the Delhi High Court has expressed strong displeasure with Oppo for causing delays and directed the Chinese company to deposit all pending royalties as interim security with the High Court.
“The Defendants shall deposit a sum of xxxxxx xxxxxx covering all past sales for the years 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, with the worthy Registrar General of this Court, within a period of three months. The said amount shall be kept in an interest-bearing fixed deposit on auto-renewal mode,”
-stated the Court.
ALSO READ: Bilkis Bano Gang Rape Case: Gujarat High Court Grants Parole to Convict for Nephew’s Wedding
Failure to comply with this directive could result in Interdigital moving the court to restrain the sale of any further devices by Oppo in India. Justice Prathiba M Singh, presiding over the case, also imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on Oppo for its conduct and causing substantial delays in the proceedings.
The trial has now been expedited and is set to conclude in 2024 itself. Should the trial fail to conclude by December 2024, Oppo will be required to deposit additional funds with the High Court.
“The trial in the suits shall now be concluded in 2024 itself. Should the trial not conclude for any reason, by December 2024, the Defendants shall deposit an additional sum of xxxxxx xxxxxx with the worthy Registrar General by 31st March 2025. Failure to deposit the amount would entitle InterDigital to move an application before the Court for seeking an injunction/restraint order from the sale of any further devices by the Defendants in India, due to non-compliance of Court orders,”
-the single-judge directed.
The Court passed the order in the two suits filed by InterDigital against Oppo for the alleged infringement of the former’s cellular (3G, 4G, and 5G) as well as video coding technology (HEVC). The technology is stated to be used in handsets under the Oppo, RealMe, and OnePlus brands.
ALSO READ: Delhi High Court Fines CON MAN for Posing as PMO Official to Gain VIP Temple Darshan
According to InterDigital’s suit, negotiations for a license agreement on Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms with the Oppo group were unsuccessful. In response, InterDigital initiated a multi-jurisdictional campaign against the Oppo Group in the UK, Germany, India, etc., in December 2021.
“A substantial amount of judicial time and effort has been expended solely because HSBC has been unwilling to assure this Court that the bank guarantees for approx. xxxxxx xxxxxx would be subject to the orders of this Court. The Defendants (Oppo) also had a duty to ensure that their bankers, HSBC — whether from Paris or India — appear and subject the bank guarantees to the jurisdiction of this Court. However, the Defendants have miserably failed to fulfil this obligation,”
-Justice Singh noted,
Expressing dissatisfaction with HSBC Bank for its failure to appear before the Court regarding the veracity of the bank guarantees drawn by Oppo.
Meanwhile, Justice Singh also allowed the applications moved by Oppo for the constitution of a confidentiality club for the exchange of confidential information, including agreements between InterDigital and them. The club will comprise designated experts, internal representatives of both parties, and their lawyers, ensuring that only members of this club have access to the documents exchanged during the trial.
InterDigital was represented by a team from Anand and Anand, including advocates Pravin Anand, Vaishali Mittal, Siddhant Chamola, Pallavi Bhatnagar, and Gitanjali Sharma.
Oppo was represented by advocates Saikrishna Rajagopal, Julien George, Anu Paarcha, Aniruddh Bhatia, Arjun Gadhoke, N Parvati, Avijit Kumar, and Vivek Ayyagiri.
CASE TITLE : [Interdigital Technology Corporation & Ors v Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd & Ors]
[READ THE ORDER]
