Xiaomi to resume sales of Qualcomm-based handsets

The Delhi High Court has permitted Xiaomi to sell and import its smartphones that run on Qualcomm chipsets until January 8, as reported by PTI. Last week, the Delhi HC had ordered Xiaomi as well as online e-commerce site Flipkart to stop selling in India handsets of the Chinese mobile maker that run on the technology patented by Ericsson. It had also barred the assembling, import and sale of Xiaomi devices in India after Ericsson accused the company of infringement on its patents. It directed customs authorities to prevent the import of Xiaomi phones that infringe the patents of Ericsson. However, the Press Trust of India has tweeted that the court has allowed Xiaomi to sell phones that run on Qualcomm chipsets until January 8.

As the Xiaomi Redmi 1s runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset, the latest order should allow Xiaomi to import and sell the handset through Flipkart. However, the Redmi Note, which runs the Mediatek MT6592 chipset, might still be barred from being imported or sold in India. According to the previous report , the Delhi HC had banned Xiaomi in India after Ericsson sued Xiaomi for violating its eight patents pertaining to AMR, EDGE and 3G technologies in the field of telecommunication. Xiaomi reportedly infringed upon the patents: Standard, Essential Patents (SEPs) which are subject to FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) terms. Ericsson said that it had invited Xiaomi to use its patented technology by obtaining a license, but instead of doing so, the Chinese manufacturer launched its devices in India in July 2014. Following the court order, Xiaomi Vice President, Hugo Barra wrote a statement on Facebook saying, “We have been forced to suspend sales in India 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.”