Context: InterDigital launched a patent enforcement campaign, primarily from its joint licensing program with Sony, against TCL in the UPC, Germany, Brazil, India, and the U.S. (February 10, 2026 ip fray article and February 12, 2026 ip fray article). TCL clamped back by suing InterDigital in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court (August 4, 2026 ip fray article).
What’s new: The 3rd Business Court of the Judicial District of the Capital of Rio de Janeiro has granted InterDigital a preliminary injunction against TCL over two of its patents related to HEVC technology (October 27, 2026 InterDigital press release). The court adopted the findings of an independent expert report, commissioned by the Rio court, which fully supported InterDigital’s position that TCL infringes the two patents-in-suit, that the patents are essential to the HEVC standard and that InterDigital’s offers met its fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) obligations. The Rio court also noted TCL’s offers were lower by “a different order of magnitude”.
Direct impact: TCL must now refrain from implementing the HEVC standard in devices it manufactures, imports, or offers for sale in Brazil. This is a big win for InterDigital, which has sought and successfully been granted PIs in Brazil before, including against Transsion earlier this year (April 1, 2026 ip fray article). In that case, the court also granted the dual PI based on an expert report.
Wider ramifications: Brazil is increasingly establishing itself as a go-to jurisdiction for patent enforcement. It recently passed the 100 ICT-patent case filing mark (October 21, 2026 ip fray article), and is seeing PIs issued more and more frequently in SEP litigation. Examples from this year alone include JVC Kenwood v. Hisense (February 6, 2026 ip fray article), NEC v. HMD (February 9, 2026 ip fray article), IP Bridge v. Geely (March 25, 2026 ip fray article), InterDigital v. Transsion (April 1, 2026 ip fray article), and IBEX v. Disney (September 10, 2026 ip fray article).
In a statement today, InterDigital’s Chief Legal Officer Josh Schmidt said:
“InterDigital is widely recognized as one of the leading contributors to the HEVC codec, which has become such a vital part of how video content is encoded and then decoded on devices like TCL’s. We welcome the Rio court’s decision and call on TCL to take a license, like its competitors, that fairly values our portfolio.”
ip fray will publish more details when and as they emerge.
Counsel
InterDigital is being represented by Licks Attorneys (ip fray firm profile with numerous SEP achievements): Rodolfo Barreto, Bruno Falque, Amanda Terra, and Élcio de Lacerda.