HC lifts ban on sale of OnePlus handsets

The Delhi High Court lifted the December 16 ban on sale of OnePlus handsets embedded with Cyanogen software and asked its single judge who had passed the earlier order, to hear it afresh two weeks from now.

A bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog while setting aside the single judge's order restraining Chinese phonemaker Shenzhen OnePlus Technology Co Ltd from selling its mobiles on the plea of Micromax, said that it was not a case for grant of an ad-interim injunction as 'prima-facie neither (company) competes nor eats into the territory of the other'.

It directed Shenzhen and US-based software firm Cyanogen, which in a lighter vein was referred to as a 'villain' in the instant case by the bench, to file their replies on Micromax' application for interim stay, saying the parties needed to be given an opportunity to file their pleadings.

The bench observed it was not proper of the single judge to finally decide the application without giving the parties time to file their pleadings.

'In view of the facts noted by us hereinabove, it would not be a case to grant an ad-interim injunction, for the reason we were informed that mobile devices launched in India by Micromax are sold at around ₹ 8,000 per piece and that by OnePlus at around ₹ 22,000 per piece. The consumer of one product is mid-segment and of the other is high-end and thus prima-facie neither competes nor eats into territory of other.

'We dispose of the appeal setting aside the impugned order dated December 16, 2014, simultaneously restoring with a direction that within two weeks from today reply to

application as also the written statement shall be filed not only by OnePlus but even by Cyanogen...,' the bench said.

The court also observed in its 18-page judgement that 'a proper debate needs to take place at the judicial fora i.e. before the single judge' on all the issues, including features of the software versions available to Micromax and Shenzhen as well as the terms of the agreements of the two companies with Cyanogen.