German Court Bans Acer, Asus in Nokia Patent Dispute
A German court has imposed sales bans on devices from Acer and Asus following a dispute over High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) patents held by Nokia. The ruling highlights the ongoing volatility and market impact of standard-essential patent (SEP) litigation. The case involves patents related to the H.265 video compression standard.
- The ruling came from the Munich I Regional Court, which found that Acer and Asus were not acting as willing licensees under the Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) framework for standard-essential patents. This decision is part of a broader legal action initiated by Nokia in the spring of 2025 against Acer, Asus, and Hisense across Germany and at the Unified Patent Court (UPC) concerning patents for the H.265 video codec. - While the German court issued a sales ban, a UK High Court had previously granted Acer and Asus an interim license for Nokia's video streaming patent portfolio. In that December 2025 ruling, the judge also rejected Nokia's argument that arbitration was a more suitable venue for determining FRAND rates, asserting the UK court's jurisdiction. - This dispute is not isolated to Germany; Nokia has also filed lawsuits in the US, Brazil, and India against the companies, and Acer has responded with its own lawsuits against Nokia in Munich concerning wireless communication technology. Another involved company, Hisense, was also sued by Nokia but settled and took a license in January 2026. - The injunction applies directly to the manufacturers, meaning they cannot import or sell the affected products in Germany. However, third-party retailers are still permitted to sell their existing inventory, so an immediate shortage of these brands is unlikely. - Nokia's patent portfolio is substantial, with over €150 billion invested in R&D since 2000, resulting in approximately 26,000 patent families. The company holds over 7,000 patent families declared essential to 5G and more than 5,000 patented inventions related to multimedia technologies like video compression. - The HEVC/H.265 standard is subject to a complex licensing landscape with multiple patent pools, including HEVC Advance (now Access Advance) and MPEG LA, which can create fragmentation and challenges in negotiations. Germany is known for its relatively strict interpretation and enforcement of patent laws, particularly in disputes over SEPs. - This is not the first time Nokia has secured a sales ban in Germany over patent disputes. The company previously won similar injunctions against Daimler's Mercedes-Benz vehicles, Amazon's Fire TV Sticks, and products from OnePlus.
