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HMD Global today unveiled its latest smartphone, the HMD Fusion, an affordable device whose idea is to change functions and style with a shell. This is how the HMD Fusion will initially be distributed, but additional devices will be available later this year.
Patent dispute threatens Fire TV sales in Nokia vs Amazon patent dispute
20. 09. 2024 Friday / By: Robert Denes / Business / Exact time: BST / Print this page
P atent dispute threatens Fire TV sales The regional court in Munich ruled in favor of Nokia in the patent dispute between Nokia and Amazon. The ruling puts Nokia in a position to stop selling at least some Fire TV devices in Germany. The process is based on license fees for video patents, which Nokia wants to receive from Amazon.
Since 2023, Nokia has sued Amazon in several countries over what it sees as infringement of its patents in the H.264 and H.265 video compression processes that Amazon uses in video streaming through Fire TV devices, for example. Amazon has so far refused to pay the required license fees to Nokia, as they are significantly higher than the industry standard. Nokia has therefore demanded a ban on the sale of certain Fire TV devices, as well as compensation, the amount of which is not known.
The regional court in Munich has now ruled in favor of Nokia, but this does not automatically mean that Fire TV devices will be stopped. Nokia must enforce this with a request for legal remedies aimed at ending the infringement. Even then, according to previous findings, not all Fire TV devices would be affected, as not all of them use Nokia's patent number EP2375749. It is not yet known exactly which devices are affected. However, if a subsequent case decides against Nokia, the company will have to compensate Amazon for the lost revenue. Enforcement of the sales stop therefore also poses a risk for Nokia.
Amazon can and will appeal the ruling, which is not yet available in writing. Amazon has already commented on the ruling and considers it wrong, but does not deny using the disputed patent without paying royalties. The amount demanded by Nokia is considered rather excessive. Nokia has so far rejected Amazon's offers of matching license payments. Nokia also has a legal obligation to license patents on a fair basis. How high these fees can be will probably have to be decided now, as in the further course, but sometimes for the courts. Nokia's position is confirmed by the ruling of the regional court in Munich.
Patent litigation blog IPfray quotes Arvin Patel, Nokia's director of licensing for new segments, as saying, "A regional court in Munich has ruled that Amazon is using Nokia's proprietary video technologies in its consumer streaming devices and selling them illegally without a license. The court also found , that Nokia acted fairly in its negotiations with Amazon."
Clarification of the situation may also take place in the United Kingdom, where in 2025 the court hearing on this issue is still ongoing. We consider the decision of the Munich Regional Court to be wrong and hope that the situation will be resolved soon. The decision does not affect existing customers, and a wide range of Fire TV devices will continue to be available on Amazon.de. We are always willing to pay a fair price for patent licenses and have worked with many companies to license these types of video patents. Nokia is asking more than all these companies combined and rejected our fair and industry standard offer. We regret that Nokia is trying to limit customer choice.
Even if Nokia enforces the sales ban, owners of Fire TV streaming devices will not be affected. These are not limited or restricted in terms of functionality, but can be used in any case as before.
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