In the ongoing connected cars battle, Daimler faces a sales ban after the Regional Court Munich ordered an injunction against the company. The action is based on the infringement of a Nokia UMTS patent. In early August, Daimler lost another suit against Nokia. Today's judgment puts pressure on the Stuttgart car giant.

On October 30, the Regional Court Munich ordered an injunction against Daimler (case ID: 21 O 3891/19) after Nokia sued Daimler for infringement of its European patent EP 13 88 234. The patent protects a hybrid automatic repeat request scheme with in-sequence delivery of packets. EP 234 is essential for the UMTS standard.

The court granted Nokia’s claims in full, ordering injunctive relief and damages. On Monday, the court will set out the reasons behind its judgment.

Nokia can now enforce the judgment against a security deposit of 18 million euros. It can also obtain a sales ban of all Daimler’s UMTS-enabled cars. Nokia did not comment on if it would take this step. However, as the deposit is relatively low, the market considers enforcement likely.

Nevertheless, Daimler announced its intention to appeal immediately after the court released its judgment. So far, the car company has appealed all judgments not in its favour. A Daimler spokesperson told the company, “We do not expect a stop of our production or sale.”

Daimler could prevent a sales ban by, among other things, halting the UMTS function in its cars.

(Source: Juve Patent)