Nokia Says German Court Rules in its Favor in Patent Dispute with Amazon

FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
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Nokia Says German Court Rules in its Favor in Patent Dispute with Amazon

FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

A German court has ruled that Amazon is using Nokia's patented video technologies without a licence, the Finnish network equipment maker and telecommunications patent holder said on Friday.
In a statement, Nokia's Chief Licensing Officer Arvin Patel said the Munich Regional Court ruled Amazon was using "Nokia's patented video-related technologies in its end-user streaming devices and is selling them illegally without a licence".
Amazon said it disagreed with the court's decision and expected the situation to be resolved soon, without being specific.
"This ruling will not affect any existing customers and a wide selection of Fire TV devices will continue to be available on Amazon," Amazon said in an emailed statement to Reuters, adding it was disappointed by Nokia's actions, Reuters reported.
Amazon said it had worked with a number of companies to license video patents.
"Nokia is demanding more than all those companies combined and has rejected our offer, which was fair and in line with market rates," Amazon said.
In July, Amazon sued Nokia in a Delaware federal court, accusing the Finnish group of infringing a dozen Amazon patents related to cloud-computing technology.
Nokia initiated the litigation against Amazon over the use of Nokia's patented multimedia inventions in 2023 in Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Unified Patent Court, it said in a blog post at the time.
"We hope that Amazon accepts its obligations and agrees a licence on fair terms," it said on Friday.



X Names Brazil Legal Representative as It Fights Ban in the Country

A view of a laptop shows the Twitter sign-in page with their logo, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP)
A view of a laptop shows the Twitter sign-in page with their logo, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP)
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X Names Brazil Legal Representative as It Fights Ban in the Country

A view of a laptop shows the Twitter sign-in page with their logo, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP)
A view of a laptop shows the Twitter sign-in page with their logo, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP)

Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has named a legal representative in Brazil, the firm's lawyers said on Friday, in a move that would address one of the demands imposed by Brazil's top court to allow the company to operate in the country.

Andre Zonaro and Sergio Rosenthal, who were recently appointed as X's lawyers in Brazil, told Reuters that colleague Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao was chosen as the firm's legal representative, and that they had submitted her name to the Supreme Court.

Brazilian law requires foreign companies to name a legal representative to operate in the country. The representative would assume the legal responsibilities for the firm locally.

X had a legal representative in Brazil until mid-August, when it decided to close its offices in the country.

In late August, Brazil's top court ordered mobile and internet service providers to block X in the nation, and users were cut off within hours after X did not name a new legal representative.

The move followed a months-long dispute between Musk and Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes over the firm's non-compliance with court orders demanding the platform take action against the spread of hate speech.

Courts have previously blocked accounts implicated in probes of spreading misinformation and hate, which Musk has denounced as censorship.

On Thursday, the lawyers representing X in Brazil said the firm was starting to comply with orders on removing content, another demand from the top court.