OnePlus smartphones face temporary sales ban in India following Xiaomi problems

The Delhi High Court has slapped a temporary sales ban on Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus after Micromax filed a lawsuit alleging it has violated an exclusivity agreement that it had signed with Cyanogen.

According to a Live Mint report, the Delhi High Court issued a temporary injunction order that restricts OnePlus from importing, marketing and selling Cyanogen-based handsets in India, with immediate effect.

However, the court has allowed OnePlus to clear its existing stock of smartphones listed on Amazon India's website.

OnePlus began selling its OnePlus One smartphone in India at the beginning of the month exclusively through the Amazon website.

The Delhi High Court's order comes in the wake of Micromax filing a lawsuit, under which the company accused OnePlus of infringing an exclusivity agreement that Micromax had inked with Cyanogen.

Under this agreement, Cyanogen is bound to offer its CyanogenMod operating system to Micromax, and that the latter can release exclusive YU devices running the CyanogenMod Android-based operating platform in India.

On the other hand, OnePlus told the Delhi High Court that it was informed about the cancellation of the agreement it signed with Cyanogen, only a fortnight before the launch of OnePlus One smartphones in India.

OnePlus had signed a deal with Cyanogen to make use of its software and trademark throughout the world, except in China.

The Delhi High Court directed OnePlus to explore the possibility of filing a lawsuit against Cyanogen for breach of agreement.

Recently, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi was also banned from importing and selling some of its smartphones in India after Ericsson was granted an injunction. But this week the court granted partial relief to the Chinese smartphone maker by granting it temporary rights to import and sell Qualcomm-based smartphones in India, until 8 January.