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Japanese Court Bans Google Pixel 7 Sales Over Patent Infringement

Pantech now seeks to extend the ban to Pixel 8 and 9 as Google readies its upcoming Pixel 10 launch.

Google Pixel 7 and Pro smartphone sales have been banned in Japan due to patent infringement.
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Overview

  • A Tokyo district court ruled that Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro infringe a Pantech patent on a 4G acknowledgement signal method and blocked their sales, imports, advertising and display in Japan
  • The presiding judge criticised Google’s conduct as insincere, influencing the decision to impose a full sales ban instead of a narrower remedy
  • Pantech has petitioned to widen the prohibition to include Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series devices, with judges yet to rule on those models
  • The restriction threatens Google’s second-place position in Japan’s smartphone market, where it holds a 5.81% share behind Apple’s 62.46%
  • Google must choose whether to appeal, negotiate a licensing deal or redesign future phones as it prepares to launch the Pixel 10 series