No HEVC Without License: Sales Ban for Acer and Asus in Germany - Nokia Enforces HEVC Patents
[12:28 Mon,16.February 2026 by Rudi Schmidts]
A patent dispute concerning the H.265 (HEVC) video compression standard now has far-reaching consequences for the PC manufacturers Acer and Asus in the German market. As reported by a[videocardz.com/newz/acer-and-asus-are-now-banned-from-selling-pcs-and-laptops-in-germany-following-nokia-hevc-patent-ruling (report from VideoCardz], the Regional Court of Munich I has issued a preliminary injunction against the companies, temporarily prohibiting the direct sale of laptops and desktop PCs in Germany.
The decision, dated January 22, 2026, affects a large number of models and is based on the infringement of so-called standard-essential patents held by the Finnish telecommunications company Nokia. These patents are necessary for the use of the HEVC codec, which is employed in countless devices for the efficient storage and playback of high-resolution videos. Nokia's patent portfolio covers a broad spectrum of technologies related to video encoding, streaming, and error correction.
HEVC Hardware Support Seems Possible on Laptops Only Against License Fees
In its ruling, the court sided with Nokia's argument that Acer and Asus had not acted as "willing licensees" within the meaning of the FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) terms. These terms are actually intended to ensure fair access to the technology for standard-essential patents. By refusing such a license, the court found the manufacturers guilty of patent infringement, which opened the legal door for a sales ban. Last autumn, we already reported that[some Dell and HP laptops surprisingly deactivated HEVC support in hardware via firmware].
The current sales ban is directed specifically against Acer and Asus as manufacturers. For end customers, this means that devices already delivered to retailers such as MediaMarkt, Saturn, or Amazon are not affected by the injunction and can continue to be sold from existing stock. However, it is to be expected that the selection will dwindle once stocks are depleted, as no new deliveries from the OEM channel will follow for the time being.
In initial statements, the affected companies appear combative. Acer confirmed to PC Welt the temporary suspension of sales activities for the affected products but simultaneously emphasized that it is examining legal steps to achieve "a fair solution as quickly as possible." Monitors, routers, and accessories are not affected by the ruling.
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