Nokia Says German Court Ruled in its Favor Over Amazon Patent Dispute

By Dominic Chopping

A German court ruled that Amazon.com is using Nokia's patented technology without a license, the Finnish telecommunications equipment vendor said Friday.

"The Munich Regional Court in Germany has ruled that Amazon is using Nokia's patented video-related technologies in its end user streaming devices and is selling them illegally without a license," a Nokia spokesperson said.

Nokia launched legal action against Amazon in October last year, claiming the unauthorized use of its video-related technologies in streaming services and devices.

The legal action related to Amazon Prime Video and Amazon's streaming devices, which Nokia said infringed a mix of its multimedia patents covering technologies including video compression, content delivery, content recommendation and aspects related to hardware.

It said at the time that it had been in discussions with Amazon for a number of years before beginning litigation.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company disagreed with the court's decision but noted the ruling won't affect existing customers, and a wide selection of Fire TV devices would continue to be available on Amazon.

"We're always willing to pay a fair price for patent licenses and we have worked with a number of companies to license video patents of this kind," the spokesperson said. "Nokia is demanding more than all those companies combined and has rejected our offer, which was fair and in line with market rates."

Nokia said Friday the German court also found that it acted fairly in its negotiations with Amazon, adding that it hopes Amazon accepts its obligations and agrees to a license on fair terms.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2024 10:41 ET (14:41 GMT)

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