The Supreme Court on
Friday dismissed Oppo’s challenge to the recent Delhi High Court Division Bench
order directing Oppo to deposit 23 per cent of the amount generated from its
sales in India for infringing upon Nokia's patent.
The
HC order asked Oppo to furnish security payment of the India portion of the
last-paid licence fee to Nokia in the patent infringement case.
The apex court refused
to interfere with the division bench order of HC except for a short extension
in time to comply with the HC direction to deposit monies in Court. "Time
for compliance with the direction of the High Court is extended until August
25, 2023 conditional on the petitioner(Oppo) filing an undertaking before this
Court within ten days that they shall comply with the order of the Division
Bench," the Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB
Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.
Though the amount is
confidential, the security payment will be 23 per cent of the amount paid under
the 2018 License Agreement. This is because Oppo's India portion is 23 per cent
of its global sales.
“Keeping in view the
status of Oppo as an ex-licensee, its admission that its phones use Nokia's
patents, its willingness to renew the 2018 Agreement and make interim payments
as late as June 2021, the fact that it has approached a Court in China for
determining a FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) rate as
well as the consistent practice of this Court and the financial condition of
Oppo, this Court is of the view that the impugned judgment is contrary to the
facts as well as settled principles of law,” the High Court order of July 3
said.
The issue arose from
Nokia’s appeal against an order of November 17 last year dismissing its
application. Nokia had sought a direction from Oppo to deposit interim security
of an amount based on either the latest counter-offer made by Oppo for a global
licence of Nokia's portfolio of Standard Essential Patents or of an amount
equivalent to the royalty paid under the (2018 Agreement) proportionate to the
ratio of the number of devices sold by Oppo in India vis-à-vis the number of
devices sold globally.