Xiaomi Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus in legal trouble

Xiaomi must now defend itself against a patent suit from Blue Spike LLC in a Texas court of law. According to the plaintiff, the Chinese manufacturer is violating US patent 8,930,719 B2 "Data Protection Method and Device". The claim targets a host of Xiaomi smartphones including the Mi 4, Mi 4 LTE, Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Pro, and Mi Note Pro. Perhaps more noteworthy is that the claim specifically mentions the unannounced Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus smartphones. Interestingly, the FCC has already approved the two Xiaomi devices for use in the U.S., but the lawsuit may be delaying the launch.

The Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus were rumored way back in July with specifications and a reveal date set for November. The Mi 5 is expected to be a 5.2-inch smartphone with a 2560 x 1440 resolution Gorilla Glass display.

The larger Mi 5 Plus is expected to be a 5.5- or 5.7-inch smartphone with a 2K display, quad-core Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4 GB RAM, and 32 GB eMMC. Both models may carry the same fingerprint sensor, Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, and 16 MP rear and 5 MP or 8 MP front cameras. Prices are rumored to start at around 2500 Yuan or the equivalent of 355 Euros.

The original patent infringement complaint from Blue Spike can be seen here. Blue Spike had filed a separate but similar complaint against Xiaomi back in 2013 for infringement of Patent  No. 5,745,569, which relates to selling of products using infringed technology without the proper license.

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