Patent dispute: Disney+ Germany without Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and 3D

A patent dispute between Disney and the company InterDigital is worsening the Disney+ subscription for customers in Germany: following a decision by the Munich Regional Court, Disney+ is no longer permitted to provide streaming content in Germany in 3D, in HDR10+ or in Dolby Vision.

For several weeks now, users have been reporting that, despite having a premium subscription, they can no longer access content with video in the dynamic HDR formats Dolby Vision and (especially concerning Samsung TVs) HDR10+ on Disney+. Content with enhanced contrast range is still available, but at best in the static basic form of HDR10. Furthermore, readers contacted the editorial team of Mac & i, who can no longer access 3D films via the Disney+ app on their Apple Vision Pro. The 3D videos were previously a flagship feature for Apple's VR headset.

No technical error

Initially, many still hoped it was just a technical error – especially since, according to readers, Disney+ support still provided tips on which TV settings needed to be activated for Dolby Vision. However, it is now clear that the service has intentionally removed the HDR and 3D versions. For example, all references to Dolby Vision have disappeared from the official help pages on the internet, and the sentence "Note: 3D content is currently not available on Disney+ in Germany." has been added. The problem only affects Germany: the website of the British branch, for example, still states that with the premium subscription on Disney+, content with Dolby Vision and – on the Apple Vision Pro – in 3D is available.

Disney+ has not provided any information about the reason for the removal of content in Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and 3D. A query from heise online has also remained unanswered so far. However, much indicates that a patent infringement lawsuit with the US company InterDigital is the cause of the current developments. For instance, the Munich Regional Court ruled last November that Disney+ infringes on InterDigital's rights when streaming videos with dynamic HDR images. The court issued a preliminary injunction against the streaming service, as stated in a press release from InterDigital. Disney+ was therefore apparently forced to remove the corresponding content.

The Munich court's ruling follows a separate decision by the same court to grant InterDigital a preliminary injunction for infringing a patent by Disney, which enables a process for dynamically overlaying a first video stream with a second video stream. InterDigital itself gives the playback of subtitles as an example of this technology. However, these are still available on Disney+ at the moment. InterDigital has also filed lawsuits in US courts and in Brazil against Disney+, among other places, and has already prevailed before a court in Rio de Janeiro.

Victim or patent troll?

InterDigital is no stranger to the industry: the company, which holds tens of thousands of patents, primarily in the fields of radio technology and video processing, has conflicted with major companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Samsung, Lenovo, Oppo, Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE for many years. Critics therefore see InterDigital as a patent troll – a label the company rejects, arguing that it buys patents for their exploitation and invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually in research and development.

For users in Germany, this distinction is irrelevant anyway: although Disney can legally defend itself against the preliminary injunctions, it will likely take some time until a final decision is reached – during which the HDR and 3D versions will not be available. Furthermore, it is unclear whether Disney will ultimately prevail or reach an agreement with InterDigital.

(nij)