HEVC patent fights spread across UPC, Germany, and London
Litigation surrounding the HEVC Advance Patent Pool is increasing, with key industry players like ASUS, ACER, Hisense, Meta, and Disney facing infringement actions from licensors such as Nokia and Huawei. These disputes involve FRAND terms and are occurring across multiple jurisdictions, including the Unified Patent Court (UPC), Germany, the United States, Brazil, India, and the UK High Court.
Key Takeaways
- Acer, ASUS, and Hisense were sued by Nokia in 2025 over video patents across the UPC, Germany, the United States, Brazil, and India.
- The same three companies filed FRAND actions against Nokia in the High Court of Justice for England & Wales, arguing Nokia’s terms were not fair or reasonable.
- The UK High Court granted interim licences to Acer, ASUS, and Hisense; German courts issued injunctions against Acer and ASUS in January, leading to sales suspensions in Germany.
- Hisense reached a licensing agreement with Nokia after the litigation escalated.
- Huawei sued Disney in January 2026 in the Mannheim Local Division of the UPC over EP3211897, and later sued Meta in the same court and in Brazil over EP3471419.
Why It Matters
The immediate takeaway is that HEVC licensing is no longer playing out as a single pool-level royalty process; licensors are using direct litigation in multiple forums while defendants respond with FRAND challenges. That raises the cost and complexity of clearing HEVC rights for products tied to streaming, broadcasting, and connected devices. The ecosystem angle is the growing role of the UPC alongside Germany and the UK High Court, where interim licences can reduce business disruption while FRAND terms are still being argued. Watch for further UPC filings and any additional interim licence rulings in the EWHC.
Read full article at murgitroyd.com
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