Nikon Sues Viltrox for Patent Infringement

In a rather unexpected twist of events that’s causing a buzz in this community, Nikon has filed a suit against Chinese lens manufacturer Viltrox with the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. The case, numbered (2025) Hu73 Zhi Min Chu No. 182, involves a royalty dispute over a patent in a period of provisional protection, which essentially refers to a period between when a patent application takes place and when it’s finally granted.

Viltrox, which is known for their quality autofocus primes offered at an affordable price through their LAB series (such as the 35mm f/1.2, 85mm f/1.2, and 135mm f/1.8), has found favor among Nikon Z-series users for providing quality optics at significantly cheaper rates compared to Nikon’s S-series offerings. While Nikon has partnered with other lens makers such as Sigma and Tamron through formal licensing agreements, Viltrox may have decided to reverse-engineer their products instead. While this allowed Viltrox to quickly enter the market with their products within the Nikon Z-mount system, they are now at the receiving end of Nikon’s intellectual property protection by this suit.

Rumors are speculating that the offending products might be the company's LAB series, which was launched recently, or even the teleconverter released for the Z mount, which competes directly with Nikon's line. A hearing has been set for March 2, 2026, and the possible outcomes can go from a licensing agreement, which would be the best possible outcome, all the way up to a “cease and desist,” which might put a stop to the sale of the offending products, just as Canon did a few years ago regarding their RF mount line.

Nikon’s cautious response to media queries about this issue centers on its commitment to “healthy competition” while urging consumers to make use of third-party lenses offered by authorized firms.

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.

For Nikon Z series consumers who are fans of Viltrox lenses, this issue does pose an important question about whether compatibility might be reduced through a firmware update in the future, even if it hasn’t yet. And it goes without saying that if you are on the fence about a Viltrox lens and don't see another equivalent anywhere, give some thought to getting it quickly before things go south.

Closing Thoughts

This court battle illustrates the one of the problems facing the large companies such as Nikon and Canon which is how to balance the protection of research investments with the need for a rich ecosystem of lenses. Personally, it really does seem that Nikon is struggling enough and now gaining back momentum in it's mirrorless lineup, that cutting off a source of reasonable and good quality lenses for the Z mount just seems unwise.

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