In January, news broke that Nikon had filed a lawsuit against Viltrox in China concerning patents related to Nikon Z-mount technology. A couple of weeks later, Viltrox said that despite the lawsuit, it was not adjusting its lens development roadmap. New reports this week claim that lens makers Sirui (China) and Meike (Hong Kong) have both stopped Nikon Z lenses, which is quite the coincidence given the ongoing legal situation with Viltrox.
Earlier this week, quoting information from China, Asobinet reported that Sirui had stopped selling its autofocus-equipped Nikon Z-mount lenses in China, beginning March 2. March 2 is also the day Nikon’s lawsuit against Viltrox officially began in a Chinese court.
Meike quickly followed suit, per Asobinet. However, Meike, a Hong Kong-based lens company, specifically released a statement online saying that the removal of its products from stores is “temporary” and part of “normal inventory optimization.”
The company continued, stating in a translated message that, “To further improve product supply stability and [the] user purchasing experience, Meike is optimizing its inventory structure, reinspecting quality, and coordinating distribution channels for its Z-mount lens series.”
Meike says the work is “progressing smoothly” and that Z-mount lenses will be available again by the end of the month.
That only Z-mount Meike lenses have vanished from some retailers, and that it happened the same week that Nikon and Viltrox’s case officially started in Chinese courts, is extremely interesting.
Although potentially affected lens companies have not officially said as much, reports on Weibo claim that other Chinese optical brands, not just Viltrox, have received legal warnings from Nikon, and that negotiations between the companies regarding potential compensatory remedies have begun. Again, this is information from China that the companies themselves have not confirmed. It is nonetheless notable, and would make sense if Nikon’s legal issue with Viltrox lenses relates to a specific lens patent or how third-party lenses interact with Nikon Z cameras and the company’s autofocus or lens communication technology.
Speaking of patented technology, it is worth noting that just because a company has a patent on a specific design, product, or technology does not necessarily mean that the patent itself will be legally defensible. Further, patent law is extremely complex and the remedies for potential patent disputes or infringements are plentiful. Nikon and Viltrox may still reach some mutual understanding on this matter. The case making it to court does not prevent a mutually acceptable resolution.
For its part, Viltrox confirmed the lawsuit’s existence and said that it was “committed to respecting intellectual property rights and approaches compliance with great care across all markets in which we operate.”
“We are currently working closely with our legal advisors to review and address the situation through appropriate legal channels. As this is an ongoing matter, we are not in a position to comment on specific details at this time,” Viltrox continued, adding that its product roadmap remains unaffected by the legal matter.
Understandably, there have still been concerns among Nikon camera owners that third-party lenses may vanish from the Z-mount system, but these worries are premature. Of all the possible outcomes here, Nikon outright banning a bunch of lenses from Z-mount seems unlikely.
PetaPixel reached out to Nikon again today, and the company reiterated its stance from January:
“Nikon has always worked with officially licensed partner companies to expand the Z-mount ecosystem. We promote technological advancement through healthy competition and encourage the use of third-party lenses from manufacturers licensed by Nikon.”
Even though some third-party Z-mount lenses have temporarily vanished from store shelves with very coincidental, frankly suspect, timing, it could be a matter of companies taking extra precautions while a legal process between Nikon and Viltrox plays out.
For what it’s worth, at the time of writing, autofocus-equipped Viltrox, Sirui, and Meike lenses for Nikon Z-mount are all available at U.S. retailers, including B&H.
PetaPixel reached out to Sirui earlier this week on the matter but has not yet received a response.
Image credits: Meike, Viltrox, Sirui. Header photo created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.com.
