According to reports, the ongoing conflict between Nokia, OnePlus, and Oppo is getting worse as the two BBK Electronics-owned businesses have allegedly decided to pull their devices out of some European markets. France, the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands are among these countries.
Oneplus and Oppo have been having difficulties in Europe for a while. A patent dispute between the two businesses and Nokia has essentially prevented them from marketing their goods in Germany. The two Chinese smartphone companies had to stop their sales in Germany after losing a patent lawsuit with Nokia.
According to a report from the European patent news siteJuve Patent, the latter accused OnePlus and Oppo of using their patented technology for processing 4G and 5G signals without paying the license fee.
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Numerous 5G patents are held by the Finnish tech firm Nokia. Some Chinese smartphone manufacturers, like Oppo and OnePlus, are having issues as a result of this. In July of last year, a German court declared that Oppo and OnePlus were unauthorized users of Nokia’s 5G technology.
The judge warned them to come to an agreement on a reasonable fee for using the technology or risk losing the right to sell their smartphones. The judge prohibited Oppo from retailing its smartphones after they were unable to come to an agreement.
An Oppo representative told Android Police, “OPPO and OnePlus are committed to all the existing European markets. We had a great start in 2023 with the successful launches of several products in Europe and have a line-up of upcoming products for the rest of the year.
As always, OPPO and OnePlus will continue to provide more innovative products and the best-in-class service for users moving forward.”
Nokia demanded an “unreasonably high fee” for patents, according to a statement made by OnePlus’ head of communications Spenser Blank to The Verge. He also reaffirmed the suspension of OnePlus phone sales in Germany.
Oppo is reportedly getting set to stop operating in Germany and the UK, according to the Chinese publication 36Kr. It claims that even though Oppo devices are popular in Europe, the company’s return on investment isn’t very high. The business is essentially losing money.
This made some sense for Oppo in the past because it was optimistic about long-term gains due to its cautious strategy to European markets. The company’s stance appears to have been altered, though, by increasing worries about macroeconomic events like rising prices, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a contracting smartphone market.
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Oppo and OnePlus, despite being well-known brands in the technology industry, shipped significantly fewer smartphones in Q2202 to European consumers.
According to a report from Counterpoint Research, OnePlus shipped even fewer smartphones than Oppo did, accounting for just 5% of the European market. Although the move wouldn’t be completely unexpected, it wouldn’t be beneficial to competitors and would give consumers fewer options.
I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.