German Court Bans Ford Sales For Technology Patent Infringement

JAKARTA - A German court has imposed a nationwide sales and production ban on Ford cars of any type or model that can be connected to the internet. The ban is part of a lawsuit for infringement of the US car company's wireless technology patent.

The ruling, by the Munich regional court, is not legally binding and can still be appealed, a source at the court said. But they added that the 227 million euro (IDR 3.5 trillion) security payment by the plaintiff, Japan's IP Bridge Inc., was needed to be "enforceable in the interim".

The ruling reflects growing tensions between tech companies who want automakers to pay royalties for technology used in navigation systems, vehicle communications, and self-driving cars in their quest for autonomous driving.

"The reason for this court case is the standard-essential patent license for LTE networks. Since we have not received a written opinion from the court, we do not wish to comment on this matter at this time," Ford said in an emailed statement.