Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer Nokia has initiated legal action against Amazon and HP for alleged unauthorized utilization of a combination of essential patents related to video streaming.
Nokia has filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Delaware and has also launched similar legal proceedings in Germany, India, the UK, and the European Unified Patent Court.
The company asserts that Amazon Prime and Twitch platforms have been using technology covered by Nokia’s patents for video compression, content delivery, and content recommendation, among other applications. Additionally, HP devices have been identified as infringing Nokia’s patented video streaming technology.
Nokia asserts that it extended equitable licensing terms to Amazon and HP for their use of its patented technology, but both corporations declined the offers. Here is what Nokia said about the litigation in a blog post:
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.
Nokia, a prominent player in research and development, has invested more than €140 billion over the past two decades and holds ownership of over 20,000 patent families spanning multiple countries. The phone maker spent  €4.5 billion last year alone.
Nokia goes on to say that entire industries are powered by its technology:
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.
