In a major relief for Xiaomi, Delhi High Court has allowed import and selling of Qualcomm based handsets till January 8th, as a temporary measure. Justice Pradeep Nandrajog from Delhi High Court passed the “pro tem order” or temporary order which will now allow Xiaomi to sell it’s imported handsets in India.
The order was passed after Xiaomi pleaded that they are only using Qualcomm chipsets, which has the required licenses from Ericsson. Hence, as per the new order, Xiaomi can only import and sell Qualcomm chipset based handsets in India.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal (Congress leader) and advocate Ajit Warrier, appeared for Xiaomi and informed the court that they are estimating 1 lakh units to be sold in the next sale.
The court ordered that Xiaomi needs to deposit Rs 100 per handset sold inside India, along with the record of how many handsets were actually sold.
Hugo Barra, Vice President of Xiaomi Global announced this news via his social networks, and also quickly announced the date of their next sales: “We are happy to announce that the Delhi High Court today issued a ruling in our favor, allowing us to resume sales in India subject to certain terms.
The good news is that Redmi 1S is coming back next week and we’ll be having our next sale on Tuesday, December 23. Registration will open shortly — keep an eye on the Mi India (Facebook) page for details!”
Redmi Note, which features a MediaTek chipset will not be available for sale in India, whereas Redmi Note 4G, which has a Qualcomm chipset can be sold. Mi3 and Redmi 1S are also eligible to be sold, but they are discontinued. It is being speculated that 1S can be brought back as Note wont be offered.
On December 11th, Delhi High Court had restrained Xiaomi from selling, advertising or importing their handsets in India. The ban was placed as Ericsson had sued Xiaomi for infringement of Standard Essential Patents (SEP), and they had failed to respond to Ericson’s charges.
Ericsson challenged that Xiaomi is using AMR, EDGE and 3G technologies in the field of telecommunication for manufacturing mobile phones, patents of which are owned by them.
Although patent infringement case is a new development in India, the swiftness with which Delhi High Court announced the ban was surprising.
The woes of Xiaomi refuses to die down in India, as it faces a constant stream of troubles and issues which has nothing to do with quality of their handsets.
In October, Indian Air Force issued a directive saying “Don’t use Xiaomi handsets” and Government accused them of sending their user’s data to China. Despite all the challenges faced, they are now World’s third largest smartphone vendor after Apple and Samsung; and they are even planning a manufacturing hub in India.
What remedy can Xiaomi apply post-January 8th in order to be in the business? We will keep you updated.