Much excitement at Meizu’s stand at CeBIT today, as the team manning the booth were paid a visit by German police investigating claims of patent violation.  Telling visitors to the exhibition that “this stand is closed until further notice”, equipment and brochures were taken and the display cleared.  Initial suspicions centred around Meizu’s M8 smartphone, which bears a striking resemblance to the Apple iPhone in both physical and GUI design, but a manager from the company subsequently disclosed that the M8 was not the cause of the stand closure.

Image via Heise.de

In fact, the controversy centred around an MP3 player in Meizu’s range, and “discussions” regarding licences took place with police and the company’s representatives present at the trade show.  The Meizu booth was later re-opened, with the M8 still on display but the contentious MP3 player removed.

Apparently the German police are using CeBIT to crack down on patent violations, and Meizu are not the only manufacturer due to be visited.