HTC Facing Ban From Selling In Germany Due To Licensing Issues Over Voice-Related Tech?

Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer, HTC is facing another trouble over patent matters, the consequence of which is to be banned in Germany. A German court ruled that HTC's phones and mobile devices are banned from selling in the country.

Neowin cited HTC as a resilient tech company, taking steps to retool its product and marketing strategy, despite dropping sales figures. It attempted to penetrate the wearables market but moved the launch of its flagship in that category until next year.

With the leaks of the upcoming HTC One X9, the OEM is said to apply significant changes to its devices like adding capacitive navigation buttons and hardware specs in the mid-range category.

With HTC One A9, the Taiwanese tech firm boosts hardware and specs quality, allowing device owners to root the handset and unlock the bootloader without voiding warranty. It is the first company to give such level of freedom.

The HTC ban in Germany  is with the ruling followed after U.S.-based patent licensing company Acacia Research Corporation, filed a lawsuit suing HTC for using standard-essential patents without license. These voice tech-related patents affect standard mobile technologies, regulating how companies can use the technologies for profit.

Plano, Texas-based Acacia has licensing deals with Amazon, Apple, Huawei, Apple, Samsung and other OEMs, but not with HTC; and it is unclear if Acacia and HTC are actively discussing about licenses or not, said Android Authority.

It was on Nov. 27 that the HTC ban in Germany was granted, but it will take effect this month and HTC will not be able to sell its devices via Deutsche Telekom, Germany's big telecom firm which annual revenue is more than €60 billion or $65.5 billion.

HTC plans to appeal the ban in Germany and would ensure limited service disruption to customers by working with Deutsche Telekom.

The ruling could compound the firm's financial problems, triggered by poor smartphone sales. It has been confirmed by Deutsche Telekom but the carrier said its sales of HTC devices is still ongoing via its online store.

In November, HTC saw a boost of its sales, courtesy of the new One A9 but the company's revenue still 40 percent less than last year's. It has reduced its workforce by 15 percent to launch new products. It still struggles to get a quarterly break-even.