A year after Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) was humiliated when Apple Inc. (AAPL) forced it to remove a tablet on display at the Berlin IFA fair, the world’s biggest consumer- electronics companies are racing to avoid similar gaffes as the annual gathering gets under way.
Makers of mobile phones, computers and television sets have registered a record number of rights with German authorities this year to weed out imitations, said Claudia Rossow-Scholl, a customs officer who has worked at IFA since 2005. Exhibitors have also taken licenses for more inventions than ever from peers as they seek to avoid their devices being drawn into scrutiny, she said.
Samsung, Sony Corp. (6758) to Acer Inc. (2353) are among companies preparing to show their wares at Europe’s largest consumer- electronics fair, which generated 3.7 billion euros ($4.6 billion) in orders last year. The event kicks off as makers are digesting Apple’s $1 billion patent victory against Samsung, a verdict that shook the industry and that may lead to a U.S. sales ban of some of the South Korean company’s smartphones.
“There are rights holders who approach us ahead of the show and say, have a look at this or that rival product,” Rossow-Scholl said in an interview after weeks of reviewing gadgets that are delivered to Berlin to be displayed, declining to name specific manufacturers. “Companies have become a lot more watchful.”
Tablet Removed Germany is a hotspot for technology-patent litigation. While companies including Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility unit, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Apple and Samsung have been suing each other around the globe, one of the focus jurisdictions is Germany because its courts allow for swift action and cover an important market for mobile devices.
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