BERLIN, (Reuters) – A German court has placed a national sales and production stop on Ford cars that are capable of connecting to the internet. This was in response to a suit over the violation wireless technology patents.

Although the Munich Regional Court’s verdict isn’t legally binding, they can appeal it. It added that a 227m euro (or 240 million) security payment from the plaintiff, Japan IP Bridge Inc was necessary for the ruling to be “provisionally enforceable”.

This ruling is a reflection of the increasing tension between tech companies that demand automakers pay royalty payments for technology used in vehicle communications, navigation systems and self-driving vehicles in order to push toward autonomous driving.

The licensing of standard-essential patents to LTE network operators is the reason for this court case. Ford made an email statement stating that he had yet not received the written opinion from the court.

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