After being slapped with a ban due to alleged patent infringement, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has now shut down its India website until further notice.
The ban came following Ericsson’s appeal in the Delhi High Court over alleged violations of Standard, Essential Patents (SEPs) which are subject to FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) terms. The website now has a letter posted by Xiaomi’s VP for Global operations, Hugo Barra.
Here’s the full text of the letter :
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 over 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)
The ban however hasn’t gone well with India’s Lawyer community. Many have questioned the authority of Customs office to check the issues of validity or infringement. Shamnad Basheer from SpiceyIP notes that the injunction granted by Delhi High Court is in stark contrast to the huge pressure which Indian telecom giants are mounting on Ericsson over patents in the IPAB and High Court.
The same letter has been posted on Company’s official Facebook page. We will cover the Xiaomi patent battle in a comprehensive, in-depth manner with a legal perspective, this Sunday. Stay Tuned
