51 booths in CeBIT 2008 get raided after patent infringement

51 booths during the 2008 CeBIT annual trade show were raided by German police due to breaches of patents with the MP3 file format. Various models of cellphones, mobile music players, satellite navigation devices and even screens were confiscated following the raid.

The patent complaints that started it all came from an Italian firm called Sisvel, who filed the said complaints on behalf of big companies including Philips, one of the largest electronic companies in the world, who through an agreement is granted the right to demand a licensing fee for consumer electronics devices sold in Europe.