- Acer and Asus have run into legal issues over patents in Germany
- This has resulted in laptops from these PC manufacturers no longer being sold
- On top of that, German buyers cannot access these companies’ local websites for their support needs with existing products
The situation with Acer and Asus laptops in Germany due to a legal issue over patents seems to have worsened, with a new and head-scratching development regarding getting support for PCs bought from these companies.
Tom’s Hardware noted that German tech site ComputerBase highlighted the problem that the German sites for both Acer and Asus are now unavailable – and what’s more, it’s difficult to even find a solution to bypass these blocks in that country.
This follows a legal ruling in Germany in a case where Nokia has taken both PC manufacturers to court over their use of HEVC (a widely used video compression standard). There are issues with how much Acer and Asus have paid for the use of this technology in their products – which are covered as SEPs or standard essential patents – with Nokia believing that the two companies have not contributed enough, and the German courts agree.
This affair has been colorfully described on Reddit as a “tire fire of monstrous proportions” and has led to a block on sales of Acer and Asus laptops in Germany and apparently a knock-on effect in support. Although Asus previously stated: “All after-sales services in Germany remain fully operational and existing customers will continue to receive uninterrupted support in full compliance with the current court order. Asus is evaluate and pursue further legal action to reach a just solution as soon as possible.”
After-sales support is apparently not available from the Asus German website, nor can German buyers of the company’s laptops access Asus websites in other regions. So, for example, if someone in Germany tries to access the Asus US site, they will still be blocked (redirected to the restricted German local site, actually).
Tom Guide’s points out that using a VPN to pretend you’re from another country won’t work to access the German Asus site either – it’s blocked globally.
Of course, you can still access Asus websites in other countries via a VPN from Germany, which is the main solution that many people will no doubt use.
However, as ComputerBase notes, it is still possible to visit the Chinese Asus website from Germany via a Google search (without a VPN). Obviously, you need to use a translated version of the website, but at least you can access something. Other reports on Reddit indicate that the Macedonian Asus website may also work for Germans without a VPN.
For Acer, ComputerBase highlights the Taiwanese Asus site as functional for those in Germany (without VPN).
Finally, note that some German people seem to be able to actually access the Asus website in the country – but they seem to be in the minority. In most cases it is blocked.
Analysis: a frustrating situation that needs to be resolved quickly
This is of course an unpleasant situation for German consumers. Although considering the legal dispute, it’s understandable why sales – or rather, additional shipments of Asus and Acer PCs, since this won’t affect laptops already on the shelves – might be blocked, but the same shouldn’t be true of support.
It’s frankly confusing for people who have bought hardware that’s still under warranty – and support – to suddenly not get a service they’ve already paid for. Germans shouldn’t have to run off to find alternative obscure regional Asus sites that work for them, or be forced to download and use a free VPN (if they don’t already have one) to get basic support.
If you run into a problem with your laptop, such as need to download a new driver or some kind of update, it is absolutely not right to be unable to access that support just because of a legal dispute. One that has nothing to do with the transaction you entered into with a notebook machine.
Especially since Asus has said that existing buyers will receive “uninterrupted support”, which clearly isn’t happening. Is this a consequence of the legal team at Asus adopting a cautious-first policy regarding the patent case? Is it an oversight? I don’t know, and we can only guess – another possibility is that the wording of the injunction might be particularly broad, as Tom’s Hardware theorizes. Whatever the reason, it’s a confusing situation to say the least.
Yes, it’s a problem only in Germany, and that country has a stricter stance with complex patent issues like this. But it’s still a move that should worry all consumers about how basic rights to receive support for an expensive tech purchase have seemingly been sidelined — at least for now.
Hopefully we’ll hear more from both laptop manufacturers about the situation before long, because this needs to be resolved.
The best laptops for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
