HTC will be hearing today whether it will be allowed to continue selling the One Mini in the UK or the smartphone will be banned from the country.
The pending decision is the result of the appeal initiated by HTC over the High Court’s decision of imposing a ban on HTC One Mini in the UK as it was found that the Taiwanese smartphone vendor infringes on one of the patents held by Nokia – ‘modular structure for a transmitter and a mobile station’.
The ban was imposed on December 6 after Nokia won the right to injunction against HTC One Mini, but was lifted immediately on HTC’s appeal with the revisit date slated for December 12.
HTC put up an argument that it is not a competitor to Nokia considering that its smartphones are loaded with a different mobile operating platform (Android) as compared to Nokia’s Windows Phone based smartphones. Nokia didn’t agree to this and has claimed that it lost substantial amount of sales after the HTC One range was launched.
Retailers can sell the device till December 12, but only till they have it in stock with them. They are not allowed to place new orders with HTC up until a decision has been made regarding the ban.
If you are looking to buy one, now is the time to get one as it is very much likely that HTC One Mini will be banned in the UK.
