A UK High Court judge ruled on December 18, 2025 that Nokia’s claims of infringement over video‑streaming technology were not upheld, giving Acer, Asus and Hisense a legal victory in a dispute that had been pending since early 2025.
The court found that the patents Nokia cited – covering key aspects of H.264 and H.265 video‑coding algorithms – were not infringed by the devices sold by the three competitors. The judge rejected Nokia’s argument that the patents were standard‑essential and that the companies had failed to negotiate a license, noting that the alleged infringements were limited to non‑essential features and that the companies had engaged in good‑faith licensing discussions before the lawsuit.
The ruling is a setback for Nokia’s patent‑licensing strategy, which has become a core revenue stream after the company’s shift away from handset manufacturing. In Q3 2025 Nokia reported $5.61 billion in revenue, up 11.6% YoY, with the Nokia Technologies segment – which includes licensing – contributing positively to margins. A loss of a high‑profile case in the UK could reduce the company’s leverage in future negotiations and may prompt a reassessment of its litigation portfolio, especially as it continues to pursue enforcement against other players such as Amazon, Paramount and Warner‑Bros. Discovery of a similar outcome in the UK may also influence Nokia’s approach to standard‑essential patents in other jurisdictions.
Nokia’s broader litigation strategy has seen mixed results: the company secured a favorable ruling against Daimler in 2020, settled a dispute with Amazon in March 2025, and faced a recent loss in the UK. The company’s head of Consumer Electronics Patent Licensing, Philippe Lanet, has stated that Acer, Asus and Hisense’s devices allegedly infringe Nokia’s video‑encoding patents and that the companies have not agreed to fair licensing terms. The court’s decision underscores the challenges Nokia faces in enforcing its SEPs and may prompt the company to focus on more defensible patents or to negotiate more aggressively before resorting to litigation.
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