Disney Accused of Using Inferior Tech After InterDigital Secures European Injunctions

InterDigital's Chief Legal Officer Josh Schmidt has come out swinging against Disney, accusing the entertainment giant of using inferior technology for its streaming channels. This comes after two 11-country injunctions in Europe, which have effectively barred Disney from using InterDigital's key video compression technology. The tech licensor has been pursuing Disney across multiple jurisdictions since licensing talks collapsed in 2022.

According to Schmidt, Disney's workaround won't work, implying that the company is trying to find a way around the injunctions. This move follows a major ruling by the Unified Patent Court, which granted an anti-anti-suit injunction against Disney last year. InterDigital has successfully secured multiple wins against Disney in Europe, with the latest one being the 11-country ban over HEVC encoding technology.

The dispute between the two companies dates back to 2022 when licensing talks broke down. Since then, InterDigital has pursued Disney across various jurisdictions, resulting in several significant rulings in its favor. The company's Chief Legal Officer believes that Disney's efforts to circumvent the injunctions will ultimately fail.