Nokia blocks Lenovo from selling any laptops, PCs or tablets in Germany and is seeking similar injunctions in Brazil, India and the US

Lenovo has been caught violating Nokia patents, a court in Munich has found. The dispute relates to Nokia's patents over the H.264 video compression standard, which Lenovo had been using on its German website. Apparently, Lenovo and Nokia have been unable to agree to license payments, so Nokia sought an injunction against Lenovo. The result is that Lenovo cannot currently sell laptops, PCs or tablets on its German website.

Lenovo continues to sell smartphones on Lenovo.de, but the loss of other products will be a major blow for Lenovo. Third-party retailers may be unable to sell new PCs and tablets produced by Lenovo, either.

It is unclear for how long the injunction will be imposed on Lenovo. Presumably, Lenovo could resolve the matter by paying Nokia what it believes it is owed, but Nokia claims that Lenovo is yet to make any formal approaches. Instead, Lenovo has appealed the judgment, but it faces similar cases with Nokia in Brazil, India and the US. Nokia has gone further in the US too and has sought an injunction against the import of laptops, tablets and PCs into the country.