Disney+ subscribers in Germany and the Netherlands can no longer send video from the app to a TV. Google Cast support has been switched off for them, and it is not a bug or a temporary outage. A patent injunction from the Unified Patent Court in Düsseldorf is the reason, and the block is already live for at least some users.
Instead of a cast button that works, affected users get a message telling them Chromecast streaming is not available in their country. The wording that has surfaced so far is a translation of the German and Dutch string, so the exact English text on your own phone may differ slightly.
Why Disney+ lost Google Cast in Germany and the Netherlands
The court ruled that InterDigital holds a valid patent covering the technology used to cast or share video between devices. It also ruled that InterDigital is entitled to an injunction against Disney for using that technology without a licence. The injunction covers Germany and the Netherlands.
InterDigital says this is the third injunction it has won against Disney at the UPC, and the eighth overall since the dispute started in February 2025. The earlier wins include two rulings in Brazil in September 2025 covering video compression, and three from the Munich Regional Court covering subtitle overlays, HDR and HEVC encoding. Two further UPC rulings on HEVC encoding, from Mannheim in June and Düsseldorf in July, apply across 11 European countries.
The second time Disney has switched a feature off rather than license it
This is the part that should concern anyone paying for Disney+ in Europe. The July HEVC injunction cost premium subscribers 4K HDR playback in those 11 countries. Disney’s answer was to move to the VP9 codec, which restored 4K but not HDR. InterDigital has since extended its case to cover VP9 as well.
InterDigital also points out that affected customers had to actively ask for refunds and downgrades, which only happens if they notice a feature is missing in the first place. That criticism is self-interested, since InterDigital wants a licence fee. It is still a fair description of what a paying subscriber gets here. You keep paying the same price, lose a feature you were sold, and carry the burden of spotting it yourself.
InterDigital’s chief legal officer framed the ruling as validation of the company’s research. “This patent-in-suit is another excellent example of how InterDigital shapes so much of the streaming experience from the processing and distribution of video content to the overall user experience,” said Josh Schmidt, Chief Legal Officer at InterDigital, in comments reported by decodeTV. InterDigital also says both UPC panels found Disney to be an unwilling licensee, rejecting its FRAND defence.
What Disney+ users can do now
The restriction is being applied to the Disney+ app itself, so no setting on your phone or Chromecast will bring the cast button back. If your TV has a native Disney+ app, that is the straightforward alternative. A wired HDMI connection from a phone or laptop is another. The injunction targets Disney, not Google Cast as a whole, so casting from other apps and your TV’s casting setup generally should be unaffected.
Disney can appeal, and given its record in this dispute it very likely will. Disney has not commented publicly on the Cast ruling as of 5 September. Until it does, or until the two sides reach a licensing deal, subscribers in these two markets are the ones absorbing the cost of the fight.
Sources: decodeTV, 9to5Google
