Fire TV Stick and Co. soon banned? What you need to know about the ruling from Munich

The sale of Amazon Fire TV devices could soon be banned in Germany. The Munich Regional Court has found the website IPFray guilty of infringing a Nokia patent in a patent dispute between the mail order company and Nokia, Amazon.

Specifically, it concerns, among other things, a patent for video compression, as Nokia explained in a blog post in 2023. This is a so-called “standard patent” that, according to the law, must be licensed on fair terms. Amazon accuses Nokia of charging too high fees and has therefore not acquired a license.

What does the verdict mean for you?

“We are always willing to pay a fair price for patent licenses and have worked with a number of companies to license video patents of this type. Nokia demanded more than all of these companies combined and rejected our fair and industry-standard offer,” a spokesperson told Netzwelt.

The ruling has not yet had any direct impact. Nokia has not yet enforced the ruling. The manufacturer can only do this by paying a security deposit, and Amazon still has the option of appealing the ruling. Whether Nokia enforces the ruling will probably also depend on the amount of security deposit set by the court. Details on this are not yet known.

Anyone who already owns a Fire TV Stick or Fire TV can breathe a sigh of relief anyway, as the ruling does not affect them. Devices that are in operation can continue to be used even during an enforcement action and will function without restrictions. It would even still be possible to obtain a replacement for a defective device.

Amazon points out that even if the ruling is enforced, not all Fire TV devices would be affected by the ban. When asked, the retailer did not want to specify which models would remain on sale.

• ” Tip: The best VPN providers for more security and data protection
• » Buy a balcony power plant: Comparison of the best solar systems