MiniOne

[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.

Nikolaus