Pixel 7 sales have been banned in Japan over a patent clash

Japan is one of the larger markets where Google sells its Pixel phones, but it can no longer sell the Pixel 7 in the country, as a sales ban on the phone has recently been imposed. Some time back, Google began facing a dispute with a company called Pantech over copyright infringement. Google has been battling that lawsuit in Japan, and it was recently reported that it has now lost that case.

As a result, the Pixel 7 can no longer be sold within the country. This applies to the Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 only. However, Google is no longer able to sell, display, transfer, or import Pixel 7 units in the country. Which means it can’t sell them directly or indirectly. It can’t even show the phone in marketing materials, it would seem. The phones won’t stop working for people who already own them, of course. But new purchases will eventually stop, if they haven’t already.

The Pixel 7 sales ban could extend to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9

Right now, the ban only applies to the Pixel 7. However, Pantech is said to be pursuing the same sales ban on Google’s more recent devices: the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9. At the moment, both phones can still be sold. It’s unclear if Pantech will be able to get the ban extended to the newer Pixel phones. Even if it does succeed in this, it could be a while before a ban is imposed on those devices.

As 9To5Google notes, the lawsuit claiming Google infringed on Pantech’s patents revolves around a technology called Control Signal Mapping. This is a core technology in “implementing 4G communication standards.” Although the Japanese court system ruled that Google infringed on the patent from Pantech, this seems to be just part of the reason for the ban. Google was reportedly “insincere” toward the dispute, so the judge presiding over the case imposed the ban.

Google no longer sells the Pixel 7 on the Google Store. With that in mind, the ban on Pixel 7 sales in the country might not be a big issue for Google. What could pose more of a problem is if Pantech is able to successfully get future devices banned. Google still sells the Pixel 8 series and the Pixel 9 series on the Google Store in Japan. So, a ban could hurt sales of those products. It could get worse, too, if the ban impacted Google’s upcoming Pixel 10 series.

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