Munich court puts sales ban on Ford's internet-linked cars in Germany over patent dispute
Ford was sued for using 4G cellular chips in cars, for which it has not paid licensing fees
• Ford was sued for using 4G cellular chips in cars, for which it has not paid licensing fees
• The ruling will be enforced in two weeks if the carmaker doesn’t settle with plaintiffs
A German court on Friday has put a nationwide sales and production ban on Ford Motor Co’s (NYSE: F) internet-connected vehicles until the carmaker doesn’t settle a dispute over microchips.
The lawsuit was filed against Ford for using 4G cellular chips in its vehicles, for which the US carmaker has not paid licensing fees, Germany’s business magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported.
Ford was sued by eight holders of patents from mobile communications that are essential for the 4G standard and was brought to the Munich court by Japanese intellectual property management company IP Bridge Inc, the report said.
The ruling, which is subject to appeal, could be enforced if IP Bridge deposits a security amount of 227 million euros with the court.
Moreover, the judgement could be enforced in two weeks if the automaker does not reach a settlement with the plaintiffs.
“Reason of this court case is the licensing of standard-essential patents for LTE networks. Since we did not yet have received the written opinion of the court, we do not want to comment on this matter at this time,” Ford told Reuters in an emailed statement.
Picture Credit: AutoEvolution
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