Google's Pixel 7 Series Ban in Japan
• The Pixel 7 series (7 and 7 Pro) have been banned from sale in Japan by a Tokyo District Court due to infringing on a 4G–LTE “ACK” patent held by Korea’s Pantech.• The court cited Google’s “insincere” behavior during proceedings as key to enforcing a full sales injunction.
• This is the first time a device was removed from the market due to standard-essential patent infringement in Japan.
• Similar court actions are being pursued against Pixel 8 and Pixel 9, with no formal ruling yet.
• The ban threatens Google’s traction in Japan, which is one of Google’s strongest markets for Pixel phones.
• Google could appeal the ruling, pursue licensing with Pantech/IdeaHub for those LTE patents, or redesign future models to avoid infringing technologies.
• The decision on what to do next depends on whether Google can license the LTE tech, successfully appeal, or pivot designs for future models.