WILMINGTON, DE — InterDigital (Nasdaq: IDCC) has secured a pan-European patent injunction against Disney, escalating a global licensing dispute over video-streaming technologies and increasing pressure on the entertainment company to reach a long-term patent agreement.
The Mannheim Local Division of the Unified Patent Court ruled that Disney infringed an InterDigital patent covering video encoding technologies related to High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) and upheld the validity of the patent, the company said.
The decision grants InterDigital an injunction spanning 11 European Union countries through the Unified Patent Court system, a relatively new venue whose rulings apply across multiple participating EU member states. Disney has the right to appeal.
The ruling marks the first injunction InterDigital has obtained against Disney through the Unified Patent Court, extending a broader legal campaign by the wireless and video technology developer to enforce its intellectual property rights against the media company.
InterDigital said courts in Germany and Brazil have previously issued injunctions against Disney involving separate patents covering high dynamic range (HDR) technology, dynamic video overlays, and additional video compression technologies tied to HEVC and AVC standards.
The dispute centers on technologies used throughout the modern streaming-video ecosystem, where patent holders often seek licensing agreements from platform operators and content distributors whose services rely on standardized video compression and delivery technologies.
“We remain committed to securing a long-term agreement with Disney, which reflects fair value for innovation that Disney uses every day,” said Josh Schmidt, InterDigital’s chief legal officer.
The latest ruling strengthens InterDigital’s position in ongoing licensing negotiations by providing the company with enforcement rights across multiple European markets simultaneously.
InterDigital develops and licenses wireless, video and artificial intelligence technologies and generates a significant portion of its revenue through patent licensing agreements with technology, consumer electronics and media companies.
The company did not disclose financial terms related to the dispute, and Disney had not publicly commented on the ruling at the time of the announcement.
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