OnePlus - Micromax dispute: High Court reserves verdict

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court reserved its verdict on the plea of Chinese phonemaker  Shenzhen OnePlus Technology Co Ltd which has challenged the  order restraining it from selling its devices in India for  allegedly infringing the exclusive rights of Micromax with  respect to use of Cyanogen software and trademark.

A bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog said it will pronounce orders tomorrow after it concluded hearing arguments of Shenzhen, Micromax and US-based software firm Cyanogen, which sells a specialised form of Android operating system. The court decided to hear arguments after Gurgaon-based  Micromax, represented by senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, refused  to agree with Shenzhen's solution of allowing the Chinese  company to sell around 6,00,000 handsets, embedded with  Cyanogen software, by March 2015.  Shenzhen said it has imported around 6,00,000 handsets  embedded with Cyanogen software. 

Cyanogen, which had a global non-exclusive agreement with  Shenzhen for use of its software and trademark in 16 nations, excluding China and Taiwan, said in view of its recent  contract with Micromax, it can no longer provide upgrades or  enhancement to the OnePlus handsets sold in India.  The US company, which had entered into an agreement with  Micromax in September 2014 for exclusive use of Cyanogen  software and trademark in South Asia, said this arrangement  superseded the one with Shenzhen. 

Shenzhen, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, submitted that since Micromax had "no privity of contract" with it, the Indian company could not have sought an  injunction against it. Micromax should have sued Cyanogen, Sibal contended.  The bench, during the hearing, also queried whether the  software firm as well as the two mobile manufacturing companies can co-exist in India in the current situation, but  Cyanogen said such co-existence was not possible.