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Mercedes-Benz Might Have To Stop Selling Its Cars In Germany

This is a weird one, isn’t it? Daimler, who is parent to Mercedes-Benz, has just lost a dispute in court against Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone company. It defeated Daimler in german court over how the car company licenses its mobile-telecommunications technology. This could have awful consequences for Mercedes, as its livelihood in Germany can now be brought into question.

Bloomberg states that this new ruling is very important, as “goes to the heart of how technology” is licensed. And now, with a clear victory in court, Nokia now has the power to stop Daimler from selling its cars in its home country, Germany. But how likely is this? Well, not very, as Nokia would then have to pay Daimler $8.3 billion in collateral if Daimler wins the appeal. This may not be something Nokia is willing to gamble on.

“We cannot understand the verdict of the Mannheim court and will appeal,” Daimler said in a statement.

“The facts show that Daimler and its supporters in the case aren’t willing to take a license,” the court confirmed.

European cars of this nature require the ability to connect its cars via telecommunications, but as Nokia provides this service, it’s now wanting to charge a fee per car over simply granting automakers the license to use its technology. All Mercedes vehicles rely on this technology, and because of that, the effects this would have on Daimler and its suppliers means many are in support of this case.

With mobile technology becoming such an important part of the motoring industry, many carmakers are keeping an eye on proceedings. “Today’s finding is a major endorsement of the long-term engineering work by innovators at Nokia and the important principle that innovators should receive a fair reward,” said Jenni Lukander, president of Nokia Technologies. “We hope that Daimler will now accept its obligations and take a license on fair terms.”

While Daimler’s appeal is yet to be filed, we’re sure it won’t be long until this is back in the court’s hands. This is simply too important to let go.

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