Patent campaign spans four courts
InterDigital's February 2026 enforcement campaign targeted both TCL and Hisense, primarily through its joint TV licensing program with Sony. According to the company's February 10 announcement, the patents at issue cover HEVC, VP9 and AV1 video compression, as well as high dynamic range (HDR) technologies.
InterDigital brought the cases before four courts: the Unified Patent Court's Munich Local Division, Germany's Munich Regional Court, Brazil's Rio de Janeiro State Court and India's Delhi High Court.
TCL and Hisense pursue competition claims
South Korea is not the only jurisdiction where InterDigital faces a competition challenge. In August 2026, TCL brought two actions in the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, accusing InterDigital of abusing its dominance in China. TCL sought antitrust damages and global licensing terms for InterDigital's HEVC portfolio under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) obligations, according to Global Competition Review and ip fray.
Those sources also reported a separate complaint by Hisense to Brazil's competition authority, CADE, alleging that InterDigital was an unwilling licensor.
Licensing disputes reach court rulings
TCL's willingness to accept a FRAND license was central to a September 10, 2026 ruling in the HEVC case concerning patent EP2452498. According to ip fray, the Unified Patent Court's Munich Local Division declined to order InterDigital to disclose comparable portfolio license agreements, finding TCL's request premature while its willingness remained disputed. The court held that a standard-essential patent holder must provide such comparisons only to a willing licensee.
In Brazil, InterDigital secured a preliminary injunction against TCL on October 27, 2026, over two HEVC patents. InterDigital said the 3rd Business Court of the Judicial District of the Capital of Rio de Janeiro found both patents infringed and essential to the HEVC standard. The court also found that InterDigital's licensing offers satisfied its FRAND obligations, while TCL's offers were lower by "a different order of magnitude".
The Brazilian order requires TCL to refrain from implementing the HEVC standard in devices it manufactures, imports or offers for sale in Brazil.
