MiniOne

[Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller]

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.