InterDigital and Arnold Ruess win injunction against Disney
Disney is barred from using InterDigital’s advanced video compression technology on its streaming platforms in Germany following an injunction issued by the Munich Regional Court, with Disney retaining the right to appeal the ruling.
[1][2][3]Core ruling and patent
The Munich Regional Court issued a decision on the merits prohibiting infringement of EP 1 905 233, which covers dynamically overlaying a first video stream with a second stream, such as subtitles, in video delivery workflows.
[2][3][1]InterDigital’s patent enables a method for dynamically overlaying a first video stream with a second video stream comprising, for example, subtitles.[3][1]
Parallel Brazilian proceedings
In parallel litigation, a Brazilian court granted a preliminary injunction in InterDigital’s favor, finding Disney infringed both patents-in-suit in that proceeding, according to InterDigital’s announcements and related filings.
[4][5][1]UPC and U.S. actions
InterDigital has also brought actions in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Central District of California (case ID 2:2025cv00895) and before UPC local divisions, including Mannheim (UPC_CFI_445/2025) and Düsseldorf (UPC_CFI_297/2025 and UPC_CFI_651/2025) addressing related technologies in streaming.
[6][7][2]Patents in dispute (EU)
- Mannheim: EP 2 465 265, EP 3 259 902, EP 2 080 349, EP 2 449 782 are contested between the parties in proceedings tied to streaming implementations. [2]
- Düsseldorf: EP 2 080 349 is addressed in separate local division litigation related to streaming technology components. [2]
Right to appeal
Disney may appeal the Munich injunction, leaving scope for further review while the order currently restricts Disney’s use of the covered technology in Germany.
[1][3][2]Author’s summary
Munich’s injunction blocks Disney from using InterDigital’s overlay patent in Germany, amid global actions including a Brazilian PI and UPC cases; Disney can appeal, but the ruling heightens pressure across Disney’s streaming stack.
[6][1][2]