Ericsson claims that Xiaomi is violating HC order by selling MediaTek chipset based phones

Swedish telecom firm Ericsson today claimed in Delhi High Court that Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi Technology was violating its interim order by selling handsets which do not have chipsets of Qualcomm Incorporated. The counsel for Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson told Justice Jayant Nath that Xiaomi was violating a division bench order of the court, allowing the Chinese company to sell and import till today (February 5) only those handsets which have Qualcomm processors. “Xiaomi is selling handsets based on non-Qualcomm chipsets through a website called www.xiaomishop.com,” senior advocate Pratibha M Singh told the court. Advocate Ajit Warrier, appearing for Xiaomi, refuted the contention of Ericsson, saying “it (Xiaomi) has no stake in the website” and someone else was misusing their name. He contended that the company was complying with the court’s order and the phones, allegedly infringing Ericsson’s patents phones, were being sold by third parties over whom Xiaomi does not have any control. The division bench on December 16 last year had permitted Xiaomi to sell its Qualcomm chipset-based devices as a ‘pro tem’ (temporary) measure till the issue was heard by the single judge today, and disposed of the Chinese company’s appeal against the December 8, 2014 order of the single judge. The interim ban on import and sale of Xiaomi devices which run on other processors or chipsets shall continue, the division bench had clarified. Redmi Note, one of the latest entrants of Xiaomi in India, runs on a Mediatek processor. The single-judge today extended the division bench’s interim order allowing Xiaomi to continue the sale of handsets with Qualcomm chipset-based devices till March 18, provided that it deposits Rs 100 per device imported in the name of Registrar General of the Delhi High Court. PTI