Germany may ban sales of HTC smartphones

The ban may be due to a lawsuit filed by the German company IPCom.

HTC smartphones with 3G support may be withdrawn from sale; IPCom's lawsuit states that the company owns patents describing UMTS cellular communication technologies.

This isn't IPCom's first lawsuit; the companies have been in litigation since 2009. In 2009, the court ruled in favor of IPCom, but HTC appealed the verdict.

IPCom holds a large patent portfolio in the field of cellular communications technologies. It acquired these patents from Bosch in 2007. In total, IPCom acquired 160 patents related to wireless data transmission technologies.

HTC is the world's fourth largest smartphone manufacturer.

In addition, analysts suggest that the ban on HTC devices could negatively impact sales of the Taiwanese manufacturer's devices early next year.