TelecomLive April-2020

In a major boost to electronic giants, SEZs clear local sourcing test In a major boost to consumer electronic giants like Apple and Xiaomi, the government has relaxed the local sourcing norms. Issuing a clarification, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said, foreign retailers can now meet their local sourcing requirements by buying goods produced inunits based in SEZs. While 100 pc foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed in single-brand retail, if the foreign invest- ment exceeds 51 pc, the 30 pc mandatory local sour- cing normkicks in. This is seen as a move to further entice OEMs, especially for the mobile phone industry. Taiwanese OEMs such as Wistron and Foxconn, who supply to tech giant Apple are expected to benefit. Apple that is willing to set up its flagship Apple Stores in India, has long been struggling to meet the local sourcing norms. With its key manufacturing partners - Foxconn & Wistron - having their India facilities located in SEZs, the relaxation will boost its fortunes. Currently, it procures iPhone XR from Foxconn's Tamil Nadu plant, whileWistron assembles iPhone 7 fromBengaluru. Others like Xiaomi & Oppo - both are working to expand their branded offline store networks - source fromFoxconn. [ News Bytes ] 6 Telecom LIVE April 2020 www.telecomlive.com US Supreme Court rejects Apple appeal in patent fight against VirnetX The US Supreme Court has refused to hear Apple Inc's bid to avoid paying a b o u t $ 4 4 0 m n i n damages for using patent licensing firm VirnetX Inc's internet security t e c h n o l o g y w i t h o u t permission in features such as FaceTime video calling. The justices rejected Apple's appeal in the long-running case in which a federal jury in 2016 found that Apple had infringed VirnetX's patents and awarded $302 mn. A judge later increased that amount to $ 4 4 0 mn i n c l u d i n g interest and other costs. The case dates back to 2010whenNevada-based VirnetX filed suit in f ede r a l c ou r t i n t he Eastern District of Texas a c cu s i ng Cupe r t i no , California-based Apple of infringing four patents for secure networks , known as virtual private networks, and secure communications links. V i r n e t X s a i d Ap p l e i n f r i n g e d w i t h i t s FaceTime and VPN on Demand f e a t u r e s i n products such as the iPhone and iPad. T h e U S C o u r t o f Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, wh i ch spec i a l i z e s i n patent disputes, upheld the judgment against Apple last year. During the litigation, Apple and other compa- nies requested that a tribunal of the US Patent and Trademark Office review the validity of the VirnetX patents. The tribunal cancelled key parts of the patents at issue in the case. B u t i n s e p a r a t e decisions also issued last year, the Federal Circuit set aside certain of the t r i b u n a l ' s r u l i n g s , bringing VirnetX closer to collecting damages from Apple. Apple appealed to t h e Sup r eme Cou r t , c on t end i ng t ha t t he d ama g e s s h o u l d b e recalculated because the specific patents VirnetX accused it of infringing wi t h Fa c eT ime we r e nearlywiped out. Realme launches first 5G smartphone in India C h i n e s e h a n d s e t maker Realme launched f i r s t 5G smar tphone models in India at a price s t a r t i n g R s 3 7 , 9 9 9 onwards. While the new smartphone models in the Realme X50 Pro 5G s e r i e s a r e t h e mo s t expensive handsets from Realme, industry analysts see it of no value for customers in India in the a b s e n c e o f t h e 5 G