Context: Last year, Innovative Sonic Corporation (ISC) sued Lenovo over standard-essential patents (SEPs) invented by ASUSTeK (commonly known as ASUS) employees (July 25, 2024 ip fray article). Shortly thereafter, the parties sued for peace (see item 2.2 of our September 27, 2024 Unified Patent Court (UPC) Roundup). Two months ago, we found out that ASUS, directly and/orindirectly, brought infringement claims agianst Xiaomi in the Landgericht München I (Munich I Regional Court) (February 6, 2025 ip fray article).
What’s new: Today we have discovered that OPPO and its upmarket OnePlus affiliate are now being sued in the Munich I Regional Court by ASUS and ISC. Both ASUS and ISC, as we have furthermore found out, are represented by the same licensing agent, Celerity IP.
Direct impact: Unlike Xiaomi, OPPO left the German market (in 2022 as a result of the enforcement of a Mannheim patent injunction by Nokia), but after a string of settlements (Nokia, Philips, InterDigital and others) and litigation-free license agreements such as with Ericsson (July 15, 2024 ip fray article), OPPO (and OnePlus) could try to regain market share in Germany. At the moment, Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) offers phones from more than a dozen brands in its online shop, but not OPPO and OnePlus. There is litigation pending with VoiceAge EVS, and now OPPO has been sued by ASUS and ISC.
Wider ramifications: It is interesting to see that some plaintiffs still prefer the Munich I Regional Court over the UPC for their wireless patent infringement actions. For example, two Avanci licensors are currently suing Chinese automaker BYD in the Munich I Regional Court, but not (or not yet) in the UPC (April 2, 2024 ip fray article).
ASUS cases
- ASUS v. OPPO and OnePlus: case no. 21 O 2344/25 (Presiding Judge: Dr. Georg Werner)
- We’re still trying to track down the SEP-in-suit and also the case number of the related Xiaomi lawsuit.
- Counsel for ASUS: Arnold Ruess’s Dr. Marina Wehler, Dr. Arno Risse (“Riße” in German), Dr. Lisa Rieth, Dr. Julius Winkler, Victoria Thuesing (“Thüsing” in German) and Felix Koetterheinrich (“Kötterheinrich” in German), together with a Cohausz & Florack team led by patent attorney Dr. Christoph Walke.
- OPPO and OnePlus are being defended by Taylor Wessing’s Dr. Jan Phillip Rektorschek. We’re still trying to find out who defends Xiaomi.
ISC cases
- The patent-in-suit against OPPO, OnePlus and (in a separate case) Xiaomi is EP2802185 (“Method and Apparatus for Adding Serving Cells in a Wireless Communication System”). It was previously asserted against Lenovo.
- These cases, like the ASUS cases, have been assigned to the 21st Civil Chamber under Presiding Judge Dr. Georg Werner.
- ISC v. OPPO and OnePlus: case no. 21 O 2342/25
- ISC v. Xiaomi: case no. 21 O 943/25
- Counsel for ISC: Dr. Alexander Reetz, Peter-Michael Weisse, Dr. Eva-Maria Thoerner (“Thörner” in German), Jan-Caspar Maiers and Julia Mauelshagen.
- Lead counsel for OPPO and OnePlus: Taylor Wessing’s Dr. Jan Phillip Rektorschek. We’re still trying to find out who defends Xiaomi.