The Federal High Court in Lagos is believed to have issued an interim injunction against Xiaomi, whose Mi branded mobile devices are currently available in Nigeria from various retailers.

According to a statement issued to the press by mi-Fone, the Federal High Court has ruled in favour of African Mobile Devices brand as the original holders of the mi trademarks in Nigeria since 2008.

"Established in 2008, mi-Fone was the first African mobile device brand, and from day one the company had duly registered the mi trademarks in the relevant categories," says Alpesh Patel, Founder of mi-Fone.

"We are an African brand and believe it is our duty to small business in Africa to stand up for our rights against the giants of this industry, no matter how daunting the process. If Xiaomi had done proper due diligence on Africa they would have noted that the mi brand already exists and belongs to mi-Fone," comments Patel.

Lawyers acting for mi-Fone – L&A Associates – stated, "Based on the recent Court ruling, anyone selling Xiaomi Mi branded devices or accessories or any company selling similar sounding products within the Telecoms sector is required to remove such products from their shelves and to desist in further promotion of such products."

Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi is the fourth largest smartphone vendor in the world and fifth globally in terms of smartphone sales.

"We are not averse to competition, however the use of the same brand name, which was introduced to the African market eight years ago, places our business at risk. We simply cannot afford to create confusion within the consumer mindset by having two mi branded and yet separate mobile device offerings," says Patel.

He continues, "We recently launched a range of products under the sub mi Tribe brand with Konga, and Nigeria has and always will be a key market for mi-Fone. We may not be the biggest but we remain committed to delivering 'aspiration within reach' to the people of Nigeria. We are a proudly African brand and believe that this injunction is a victory for small business and for African brands fighting to make their presence felt amongst the large non-African brands constantly entering the continent with far greater resources at their disposal."

Xiaomi is said to have been founded in April 2010 by Lei Jun, and according to an ITWeb report, the company's first team comprised former executives from Microsoft, Google and Motorola.

The brand launched in South Africa late 2015 and is available through Mobile In Africa Group (MIA).

The company did not respond to requests for comment on this issue at the time of publishing.