Takeaway: The ITC’s decision on whether to ban Amazon products for infringing Nokia’s standard-essential patents highlights a broader conflict between protecting patent rights and preventing anticompetitive practices, with potential consequences for innovation, licensing costs, and consumer prices.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is evaluating whether to impose an import ban on Amazon products after a judge ruled that the company infringed Nokia’s standard-essential patents for video compression. Tech companies, including HP, Lenovo, and Motorola, argue that such bans should be rare, warning that allowing exclusion orders for essential patents—meant to be licensed on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms—could lead to inflated licensing fees, harm competition, and ultimately increase costs for consumers. In contrast, patent advocates insist that exclusion orders are a necessary enforcement tool to uphold strong intellectual property rights and prevent infringement. The debate reflects broader, longstanding tensions over how standard-essential patents should be enforced, with the ITC set to issue a final decision on Nokia’s case against Amazon by May 14.