Disney+ subscribers in Germany and the Netherlands can no longer use Google Cast to send streams to compatible TVs and Chromecast devices. The restriction follows a new Unified Patent Court injunction in InterDigital’s patent dispute with Disney, with affected users receiving a notice that Chromecast streaming is unavailable in their country.
The Düsseldorf division of the Unified Patent Court ruled on European patent EP 2 080 349, which covers multimedia-content sharing between devices. The court upheld the patent in amended form and found that Disney+ indirectly infringes it, giving InterDigital an injunction applicable in Germany and the Netherlands. Disney can challenge the ruling.
The measure applies to Disney+’s Cast implementation rather than Google Cast as a whole, so it does not mean that casting has been disabled for other apps in either market. Disney+ remains available through the app installed directly on compatible smart TVs and other supported devices.
The latest order is part of a wider dispute that has already affected Disney+ video features across Europe. Two earlier UPC decisions involving HEVC technology covered Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Sweden. InterDigital says Disney opted for technical changes rather than a licence, including a move to VP9 that restored 4K on some devices, while HDR remained unavailable in the affected markets.
InterDigital describes this as its third UPC injunction against Disney and the eighth order in a dispute that began in February 2025. Disney had not published its own statement on the latest Cast restriction as of September 5. The next development will depend on a potential appeal, a licensing agreement or another technical change to the service.
