Apple can legally now sell iPhone 14 models in Colombia for the first time, with iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 also coming along for the ride.
The news comes after a Colombian judge overturned a preliminary injunction that prevented Apple from selling any 5G-powered devices in the country following claims by Ericsson that they infringed upon its patents. Now that the preliminary injunction has been overturned by the Sala Civil del Tribunal Superior del Distrito Judicial de Bogotá D.C., (Superior Court for the Judicial District, Civil Law Division,) Apple can finally release its best iPhones in Colombia.
Whether they'll be banned again in the future remains to be seen, however, with multiple Ericsson Vs Apple rulings set to be handed down in the early parts of 2023.
5G for everyone, or not
The irony here is that the 5G network in Colombia is non-existent, meaning even if people bought 5G iPhones they wouldn't be able to make the most of them. That didn't stop Ericsson from getting involved around four months ago, forcing Apple to skip the iPhone 14 launch and 5G-capable iPads entirely.
Foss Patents reports that the decision to overturn the injunction was made because the appeals court has access to more information than was previously allowed in front of the original court. "Apple argued that there were 'significant differences' between the claim language and the relevant part of the 5G standard," for example, with a sworn declaration from an expert also provided by Apple.
With Apple now able to release the iPhone 14 lineup, it can also bring other 5G-enabled devices back to the market in Colombia. But with the overall patent decisions expected to arrive in 2023, it's possible that Apple could be forced to remove its products from sale again or face paying licensing fees.
It's possible that Apple and Ericsson could agree on a settlement before then.
