InterDigital expands patent lawsuit against Disney to VP9 codec

InterDigital has expanded its patent litigation against Disney at the Unified Patent Court (UPC), specifically targeting the use of the VP9 video codec. This move follows Disney's attempt to circumvent previous patent injunctions related to HEVC encoding, HDR playback, and subtitle overlay technologies by switching to the older VP9 format for 4K content.

InterDigital argues that the underlying patented technology, such as intra-chroma coding processes, is present in both HEVC and VP9, making the format switch ineffective for avoiding licensing fees. The company alleges that Disney has chosen to reduce video features and quality for premium customers rather than reaching a licensing agreement.

This development follows several prior injunctions obtained by InterDigital in jurisdictions including Germany, Brazil, and the UPC in Mannheim and Düsseldorf. The new legal proceedings are being handled under case number UPC_CFI_3044/2026 in Mannheim.