Update: June 12, 2023 (02:55 AM ET): vivo has issued a statement on its situation in the German market, stating that an agreement with Nokia has not been reached so far. You can read the full statement below:

vivo fully respects intellectual property and is committed to continuous innovation through extensive research and development. In recent years, vivo has entered into cross-license agreements with numerous leading companies. We have been negotiating with Nokia about cross-license renewal, but an agreement has not been reached so far. We firmly believe that Nokia has not yet complied with its obligation to offer a license on “FRAND” (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms.

 

We are disappointed by the non-final judgments of the Regional Court of Mannheim of April 6, 2023, and due to enforcement of these decisions by Nokia, we have suspended the sales and marketing of relevant products in Germany. We have appealed against the decisions and will evaluate further options. Meanwhile, we will continue to negotiate with Nokia to resolve the ongoing matter in accordance with “FRAND” terms.

 

Our long-term commitment to the German market remains unchanged. Users can rely on after-sales service as well as future software updates for their devices. There is no impact on our business outside Germany.

Original article: June 9, 2023 (08:44 AM ET): Last year, OPPO and OnePlus were banned from selling their phones in Germany, thanks to a patent dispute ruled against them. Now vivo is following suit, as it has removed its store page in Germany, presenting no way for consumers to purchase vivo smartphones in the country for the foreseeable future.

The text in the image above roughly translates into:

Unfortunately, vivo products are not available in Germany at the moment. Accordingly, no product information is available on our German website. If you use a vivo product, you can continue to rely on our customer service. You will also receive future software updates.

vivo does not specifically mention any reasons for the closure of its store, nor does it note whether this move is temporary or permanent. We’ve reached out to vivo for a statement and will update the article once we hear back from them.

WinFuture reports that this exit is due to the patent dispute with Nokia (the Finnish equipment supplier, and not HMD Global which owns the Nokia smartphone brand). Nokia accused vivo of infringing patents related to WLAN connections in its smartphones. German courts have ruled in favor of Nokia, and as a result, vivo has had to pull its products from the country. This is the same cause of action that affected OnePlus and OPPO too.

OPPO and OnePlus were reportedly considering exiting several European markets and the UK. However, OPPO clarified that it is not leaving the German market (or any of the others), but the business in Germany has been put on hold due to the injunction. As of April 2023, OPPO attempted to negotiate with Nokia on the same, although OPPO’s German website remains empty as of writing this news article.