Nokia patent trial ends with ban of HTC Android device sales in Germany

HTC to appeal decision as Google works to invalidate the patent altogether

Nokia has snagged yet another patent victory against HTC in German court today. Following a trial hoping to prove that HTC's Android-powered phones infringed Nokia's patent for transferring data over NFC or Bluetooth (that'd be Android Beam), Nokia walks away with a complete sales ban of all of the Taiwanese company's products in Germany. Nokia is not required to license patent EP1148681 as it isn't required for basic functions of the phone, but we can think Nokia would be willing to accept some money to stop further bans. 

Understanding that Nokia's litigious efforts may be of harm to the entire Android ecosystem, Google has been working to invalidate the patent to keep these kinds of bans from happening. Additionally, rumor has it that Motorola and Nokia are in talks to license the patent in the meantime. As we would all expect, HTC will be appealing the ruling to try and put its devices back on sale in one of the most important European markets.

Source: FOSS Patents; Via: Engadget