InterDigital Seeks $118 Million from Disney in Patent Fight

InterDigital Inc., a technology and patent licensing company, is seeking €101.7 million ($118 million) from Walt Disney Co. over the alleged unlicensed use of video technology by the Disney+ streaming service, according to people familiar with the matter.

The claim was filed with the Munich Regional Court earlier this month, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the size of the claim hasn’t been made public. The court ruled in Nov. 2025 that Disney infringed an InterDigital patent related to streaming video using high-dynamic-range, or HDR, technology. The court granted InterDigital an injunction to stop Disney from using it.

The request raises the financial stakes in a wider licensing dispute over video technology that has spawned litigation in Europe, Brazil and the US. InterDigital is seeking a long-term license from Disney.

HDR is designed to improve picture quality by displaying a wider range of brightness and color, allowing more detail in both dark and bright parts of an image.

“This damages claim reflects just some of the value that Disney derives from our HDR technology,” Josh Schmidt, InterDigital’s Chief Legal Officer, said in a statement to Bloomberg. “Our preference is to reach a negotiated settlement with Disney.”

It’s not clear whether any settlement would approach the figure Interdigital is seeking however, and Disney is likely to push back on such a payment demand.

The claim covers Disney’s use of the HDR technology from the launch of Disney+ in Germany in 2020 through to the Munich injunction in late 2025. It also takes into account streams sent to subscribers in 19 European countries from a server facility near Frankfurt.

Disney stopped offering Dolby Vision content to subscribers following the Munich injunction. Dolby Vision had been part of Disney+’s Premium subscription tier, which costs €5 more than the Standard plan.

“Following a recent ruling in a European patent court, casting from a mobile device or browser via Chromecast is currently unavailable for Disney+ customers in Germany and the Netherlands,” Disney said in response to a request for comment.

InterDigital said it has now won injunctions against Disney in Germany and Brazil, as well as from the Unified Patent Court in rulings from its Mannheim and Düsseldorf divisions. The companies have also filed suits in California and Delaware.

InterDigital said Disney continues to use some of its patented technologies without a license. Schmidt said Disney had instead reduced features offered to customers despite eight injunctions obtained by InterDigital across the broader litigation.

Top photo: The Disney+ streaming platform. Photographer: Riccardo Milani/AFP/Getty Images. Bloomberg.