Shipments of HTC's new flagship model, the new HTC One, might be jeopardized again after the District Court of Amsterdam issued recently a preliminary injunction, prohibiting STMicroelectronics from continuing shipping its dual membrane microphones to HTC, which are needed for the production of the device, according to industry sources.
In response, HTC said that it has contacted the supplier to seek whether an alternative solution is needed and that the preliminary injunction should not have an immediate impact on its sales.
The sources also indicated that ST has signed a contract with Nokia, demanding ST ship the dual membrane microphones to Nokia exclusively for a year through March 1, 2014, as the technology for the production of the microphones originated from Nokia.
While the ruling over related dual membrane microphones may not necessary help Nokia ramp its shipments of Lumia phones, the handset vendor may force HTC to settle its previous complaints accusing the Taiwan-based maker for alleged infringement of more than 40 of its patents.
To avoid its shipments being caught in the middle, HTC is expected to find out an alternative solution soon, or simply take out the functionality related to the dual membrane microphones, commented the sources.
Article translated by Steve Shen
