14 DAY TRIAL // Although the One A9 saved HTC's financial results for the end of the year, the Taiwanese company is still far from the popularity it enjoyed several years ago.
When HTC thought things would only get better, the company was hit by an injunction request from Acacia Research Group, a patent-licensing firm based in Plano, Texas, Wall Street Journal reports.
The lawsuit was filed last year in Germany, and Mannheim District Court granted Acacia Research Group the injunction it requested against HTC handset sales via Deutsche Telekom carrier.
Acacia Executive VP David Rosmann states that he expects the injunction to take effect later this month, which means HTC smartphones could be banned from sales at German carrier Deutsche Telekom.
Obviously, HTC representatives confirmed they are already planning an appeal to the ruling, but it's unclear whether or not that will stop the injunction to take effect in the next couple of weeks.
A licensing agreement between the two companies could lift the ban
HTC has also stated that it's now working with Deutsche Telekom to minimize the disruption to the German carrier's customers while the matter is appealed.
According to Acacia, the suit filed against Deutsche Telekom and HTC over standard patents related to voice coding technology could have been avoided if the Taiwanese company had agreed to license those patents.
Mr. Rosmann also said that his company had already struck licensing deals over this technology with major players in the market such as Apple, Amazon, Huawei and Samsung, but that HTC is not on the list yet.
If that's true, the only chance for HTC to continue to sell its smartphones through Deutsche Telekom would be to enter a licensing agreement with Acacia, but both companies declined to say whether or not they have started discussions on the matter.