Am 06.03.2008 um 11:10 schrieb Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller:
Am 06.03.2008 um 10:41 schrieb Gabriel Ambuehl:
On Thursday 06 March 2008 09:57:22 Mario Wewer wrote:
Hello community,
does anyone of you already have a "Meizu MiniOne" Phone?
You mean it's *not* vapor ware but actually for sale?
There was a note on the German online magazine Heise-online that the
German tax and duties authorities have confiscated all Meizu MiniOne
devices during CeBIT because of patent infringement issues:
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/104558
And before you ask: yes, this is possible and legal. A company who
has a patent in Europe can ask the tax authorities to confiscate
infringing hardware as product piracy *when they are imported and
enter the European Union*. In the case of CeBIT it is much simpler
to wait until the manufacturer shows everything on their booth, than
trying to find something in the baggage of the exhibitor's staff at
the airports.
The importer must then show proof that he has valid licenses and has
paid any relevant fees. If he has or does not infringe patents, he
can ask the original company who has done this for compensation
(i.e. damage in image, loss of revenue and customers). The latter
point shows that the patent owners must be quite sure what they do
(or have enough money). But this all takes time and CeBIT has
already closed its doors.
The same has happened several times for MP3 players in previous years.
Basically all this is a "service" that one gets by having a patent
and paying the patent fees. He can ask tax&duty authorities for help
to protect against infringing imports.
So my conclusion is: it is not vapor because these devices exist -
but they can't be sold or imported legally into the EU.
There is an update to the article: it was NOT the MiniOne but an MP3
player. The MiniOne is back on CeBIT again.
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