InterDigital expands Disney+ patent litigation to include VP9 codec workaround

The expansion of this lawsuit challenges the industry assumption that Google-backed VP9 serves as a safe, royalty-free alternative to HEVC. If the Unified Patent Court rules against Disney, it signals that switching codecs is no longer a viable legal shield for streamers facing licensing demands. This creates a precarious environment for platforms considering a move to AV1, which is also marketed as royalty-free but may face similar claims from patent pools. While Amazon has opted for peace through licensing, Disney’s resistance could force a definitive ruling on codec intellectual property. Watch for the court's decision on VP9 infringement to determine if AV1 remains a viable long-term technical roadmap for European 4K HDR delivery.

InterDigital has built a broad patent enforcement campaign targeting major streaming platforms over video codec implementations. In May 2025, InterDigital filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Amazon at the Unified Patent Court in Munich, alleging that Prime Video's use of HEVC violated several of its European patents. Amazon subsequently entered into a licensing agreement with InterDigital covering HEVC and other video codec patents, resolving the dispute without a court ruling. That settlement contrasts sharply with Disney's strategy of switching codecs rather than paying licensing fees, and it establishes a precedent that InterDigital is willing to pursue litigation against any major streamer that does not take a license.

The Unified Patent Court itself has become a critical venue for codec patent disputes since it began operations in June 2023. The UPC issued its first substantive ruling on video codec patents in early 2025, finding infringement in a case involving HEVC implementations, signaling that the court is prepared to enforce standard-essential patent claims across its member states. For Disney+, the implications extend beyond a single market: a UPC injunction can cover multiple EU countries simultaneously, making it far more costly to comply with than a national court order. InterDigital's VP9 patent portfolio includes claims filed as early as 2010 that predate Google's public release of the codec, which complicates Disney's argument that VP9 was chosen specifically to avoid patent encumbrances.

The broader codec licensing landscape adds pressure on streaming services evaluating their encoding strategies. Access Advance's HEVC Advance patent pool reported in mid-2025 that its licensee base had grown to over 300 companies, reflecting increasing industry acceptance of paid licensing as the default path. Meanwhile, the Alliance for Open Media announced in March 2025 that AV1 adoption had reached over 2 billion devices, yet no major patent pool has yet asserted claims against AV1 implementers in court. If InterDigital succeeds against Disney on VP9, it would demonstrate that even royalty-free codec branding offers no legal immunity, potentially forcing streamers to budget for licensing costs regardless of which codec they deploy for 4K delivery in Europe.