Nokia sues Amazon and HP over patent infringement, seeks compensation

Nokia has sued Amazon and HP for patent infringement, saying the two companies illegally used Nokia’s video-related technologies in their services and devices, and has sought compensation.

Arvin Patel, Chief Licensing Officer, New Segments at Nokia, said in a blog post that they have commenced legal action against Amazon for the unauthorised use of Nokia’s video-related technologies in its streaming services and devices.

The cases against Amazon have been filed in the US, Germany, India, the UK and the European Unified Patent Court.

“Amazon Prime Video and Amazon’s streaming devices infringe a mix of Nokia’s multimedia patents covering multiple technologies including video compression, content delivery, content recommendation and aspects related to hardware,” Patel said late on Tuesday.

Separately, Nokia filed cases in the US against HP for “the unauthorised use of Nokia’s patented video-related technologies in their devices”.

Since 2017, Nokia has concluded or extended over 250 licenses – including amicable licenses with Apple and Samsung – and launched just 6 litigation campaigns.

“We’ve been in discussions with each of Amazon and HP for a number of years, but sometimes litigation is the only way to respond to companies who choose not to play by the rules followed and respected by others. And let’s be clear: Amazon and HP benefit significantly from Nokia’s multimedia inventions,” said Patel.

Since 2000, Nokia has invested more than 140 billion euros (and over 4.5 billion euros last year alone) in R&D for cutting edge technologies including cellular and multimedia.

“As a result, we hold one of the world’s strongest patent portfolios of connectivity and multimedia technologies – and it is no exaggeration to say that entire industries are powered by these inventions,” Patel informed.

Nokia is now seeking compensation for the use of its technologies, royalties which “we will reinvest, along with substantial amounts of additional investment, in the development of next generation multimedia technology”.

“Litigation is never our first choice. Our preference is to reach amicable agreements with the companies who rely upon our technology, and our door remains open for constructive, good-faith negotiations,” the company said.