Nokia sues Acer, Asus, Hisense in US over video streaming technology

Nokia sued Taiwanese tech companies Acer and Asus and China-based Hisense in the United States, expanding the companies' patent disputes over video coding technology. The complaints filed Monday in California, Georgia and Texas said Acer and Asus' computers and Hisense's televisions violate five Nokia patents related to international standards that improve the efficiency and quality of streaming video.

Nokia last week filed related complaints in Europe against the same companies and settled a separate streaming-video patent dispute with Amazon.

Spokespeople for Acer, Asus and Hisense did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Nokia said in a statement that it hopes the companies "will soon agree to accept a license on fair terms, just like many of their competitors have done."

Finland-based Nokia transitioned from making cell phones in the 2000s and 2010s to focusing largely on research and development. It said in the lawsuits that it owns more than 20,000 patents worldwide.

The lawsuits said that Nokia has tried to negotiate licenses to its standard-essential video coding patents with Acer, Asus and Hisense for years. Standard-essential patents cover technology that devices must include in order to comply with international standards such as 4G, Wi-Fi and USB.

Nokia requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages in the cases.