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Asus and Acer laptops and PCs are facing a tough time in Germany after a court ruling on these brands. Know the full story.
Acer and Asus laptops and PCs cannot sell in the country.
Nokia has forced Asus and Acer to stop selling their PCs and laptops in Germany after a court ruling confirmed the news in the region. The news about these brands asking to act on selling their PCs in Germany has been brought through by a German court which has ordered a basis on a patent infringement case filed by Nokia.
The case has been going on for a while, and the Munich Regional Court made its decision back in January, forcing Asus and Acer to stop selling their products in the country, albeit without affecting their existing stock in shelves and across online platforms.
Banned For Video Codecs: What Caused This For Acer And Asus?
The Nokia case for patent infringement is linked to the H.265 video coding (HEVC) format that the company claims have been misused by Acer and Asus, not paying the former for using the technology in their products.
Patent filings and ownership cases are not new, and in Germany itself Nokia had a similar ruling announced against Oppo and OnePlus for infringing its 4G and 5G patents in the country and not renewing the license agreement in 2021. The ban was later rolled back, but now Acer and Asus will have to go through a similar legal process to get the permission to sell their devices in the region once again.
The HEVC codec is linked to the display products that can handle video processing and offer better streaming quality across these devices using both hardware and software integration.
Acer And Asus Ban: What Happens Next?
The court ruling has an interesting twist that these companies might use to their advantage. Asus and Acer have been mentioned as manufacturers, which means their products can be sold through third-party online and offline stores, at least till the stocks are available. The ban comes into effect across the company stores, and also stops them from bringing more units to the shelves for buyers.
Acer and Asus can make a quick comeback in Germany by either agreeing to new terms of licence with Nokia or seek a stay on the current order and continue to operate normally till further sanctions are ordered.
February 17, 2026, 13:27 IST
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