A German court has issued a court ruling banning sales of Lenovo and Motorola, which house WWAN units that enable devices to connect wirelessly over mobile networks. The ruling comes after a legal dispute between the American technology company InterDigital and Lenovo and Motorola over patents, and the ruling came into effect after the prosecutor deposited a security deposit of four million euros, according to German media. The ruling includes banning sales of Lenovo as well as Motorola, which has been owned by it since 2014, after buying them from Google.

The dispute revolves around licensing terms for the WWAN units used in the two companies' products, including newly launched smartphones such as the Edge 50 Ultra. According to the court, those devices use technologies for which InterDigital has patents, and disputes have arisen over the fees Lenovo must pay for their use.

InterDigital alleges that Lenovo did not "meet its demands for fair and reasonable licensing fees", prompting it to go to court. Lenovo, on the other hand, says InterDigital's terms are unfair and has confirmed its intention to appeal the ruling. Under the ruling, Lenovo is prohibited from selling, displaying or importing any devices containing disputed WWANs, including smartphones, tablets and laptops that use wireless cellular networks.

With the ruling coming into effect, Lenovo and Motorola stopped listing products affected by the ruling on their websites in Germany, but some retailers continue to sell existing inventory. However, potential shortages and delivery issues may occur after inventory ends. It is still possible for the conflicting parties to reach an agreement or settlement in order to lift the embargo.

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