On March 9, Sharp said that it had filed a patent infringement damage lawsuit against OPPO in the Munich District Court and the Mannheim District Court on March 6.
At the same time, Sharp also filed a patent infringement damage lawsuit against OPPO Japan (located in Tokyo, Japan) in Tokyo District Court on March 6 and 9.
Sharp claims that OPPO and OPPO Japan have infringed on several LTE (4G) patents related to the communication technology implemented in their smartphones. Sharp sees its patent portfolio as a major resource for its business development, and Sharp will take the necessary actions to protect its intellectual property.
In response to Sharp's allegations, OPPO responded: "OPPO opposes unreasonably high prices, using litigation as a tool, and other unreasonable negotiations, and does not exclude the right to defend its own interests through legal means."
OPPO emphasized in the statement that the company respects and protects the intellectual property rights of itself and third parties. For many years, it has concluded in-depth intellectual property rights cooperation agreements with industry leaders such as Qualcomm, Nokia and Ericsson.
OPPO stated that it has always paid attention to the accumulation of intellectual property rights. As of February 29, 2019, the number of global patent applications has exceeded 43,000, the number of authorizations has exceeded 16,000, and the number of invention patents in China ranks third.
