Nokia sues Paramount at UPC and in Germany

Patent holder Nokia is extending its litigation campaign against Paramount to Europe. Following lawsuits in the US and Brazil, the Finnish company has now filed further infringement proceedings at the UPC and in Germany. The case concerns video streaming technology.

After its successful series of lawsuits against Amazon’s video streaming services, Nokia is now taking aim at another industry giant. This week, Nokia sued film production company Paramount and its streaming services in Europe.

Nokia filed a lawsuit at the UPC’s Mannheim local division and at Munich Regional Court. Previously, Nokia had negotiated a licence agreement with Paramount for its video-related technologies in the company’s streaming services. Nokia then filed a lawsuit against Paramount in the US and Brazil in August.

Large patent portfolio

In Europe, the lawsuits centre around three patents. Nokia is asserting its EP 4 250 732 at the UPC and EP 4 099 700 at Munich Regional Court. Both protect a technique for improved motion prediction in video coding. In addition, Nokia is also asserting EP 2 130 150 at Munich Regional Court, which provides a method for an improved arrangement of media files based on profiles.

Nokia made it clear in a statement that it wants to force Paramount into a licence: “Our preference is to avoid litigation, but Paramount left us with no choice. We hope that Paramount accepts their obligation and pays for the use of our technologies in their streaming services.”

Nokia last succeeded with this strategy in March against Amazon. In October 2023, the Finnish patent holder filed infringement suits against the Amazon Prime service in the US, Germany, India, the UK and at the UPC. Düsseldorf Regional Court subsequently granted the company an injunction, while Munich Regional Court confirmed a patent infringement. The security deposit for Nokia was set at €646.75 million.