Lessons from DivX: a model for ensuring patent protection in Brazil

Many companies have obtained effective patent protection by filing enforcement complaints in Brazil for the best part of the last two decades, but few have enjoyed a level of success like DivX. Despite being many times smaller than the foes it has taken on in litigation, DivX has set the gold standard for patent litigation in Latin America’s largest economy.

DivX has built an unmatched track record in Brazil since 2020, securing injunctions against big tech giants such as Samsung, Amazon and Netflix, as well as major players such as TCL and Hisense due to the infringement of its PI 0506163-6 patent, related to digital video technology used in 4K video content. These victories are a testament not only to the way DivX litigates, but also to the strength of its digital video innovations.

DivX has shown it can face any challenge head on. Deep pocket litigants like Netflix and Samsung do not have budget constraints, so when you go against them you can expect to face a tsunami of arguments, an army of lawyers and every possible litigation tool. Still, DivX emerged victorious.

In the scenario of an upcoming jury trial in Los Angeles against Netflix, DivX’s enforcement efforts come into the spotlight.

DivX's Key Victories in Brazil

DivX, known for its popular video compression software, downloaded more than one billion times worldwide, has relied on Brazilian courts to uphold its patent rights in a rapidly evolving digital video ecosystem, giving good example of how smaller, innovation-committed companies can prevail in patent disputes against tech titans that abuse their market power to increase their earnings through patent infringement.

DivX's history of victories goes back to 2021, when it secured a preliminary injunction against Samsung for infringing its deblocking patent in its mobile phones commercialized in Brazil. This outcome led to a global licensing agreement just 17 (seventeen) days later. Similarly, in 2022, a preliminary injunction was issued against TCL for implementing DivX’s patented technology in its TV devices commercialized in Brazil. Once again, the firm response of the Brazilian judiciary to stop infringement prompted a subsequent licensing deal with the Chinese company.

A subsequent lawsuit was filed in 2022 against Amazon. In this case, DivX managed to obtain a preliminary injunction ordering the retail giant to cease any and all activity (by offering both streaming services and devices) related to Ultra High-Quality videos in Brazil. In this case, the preliminary injunction was issued after a court-appointed expert confirmed the validity of DivX’s deblocking patent and its infringement by Amazon’s FireStick and EchoShow devices and the Prime Video streaming service. 

Later, in 2023, DivX sued Hisense (and the Toshiba brand) for the infringement of its Brazilian patent. As in the Amazon case, a preliminary injunction was issued after a court-appointed expert validated the patent’s validity and infringement by Hisense TVs commercialized in Brazil. This was the first ever merits-based patent preliminary injunction issued in Brazil, which paved the way for the new decision-making trend being adopted by the Rio de Janeiro State Court: the issuance of merits-based injunctions after confirmation of the violation by a court-appointed unbiased expert.

The fact that DivX reached a global settlement with the Chinese company without suing Hisense in any other jurisdiction shows how decisive the Brazilian injunction was in leading the parties towards the resolution of the dispute. All this in less than a year - the case was fully instructed and reached the stage of final judgment on the merits in approximately nine months, greatly due to DivX's diligent handling of the case.

The Hisense case highlights DivX’s pivotal role in this change in the Brazilian Courts’ modus operandi in patent infringement cases, which can be largely attributed to the implementation of the San Diego-based video technology company’s successful litigation model, revealed to be the gold standard for ICT disputes.

The pinnacle came in December 2023 when the Rio de Janeiro State Court issued Brazil's first permanent injunction in a tech-based patent case to enjoin Netflix from violating DivX’s patent. The infringement was also confirmed by a court-appointed expert, which led Netflix to disable DivX’s technology from its services in Brazil. The streaming giant was also ordered to compensate DivX for the material damages that resulted from the infringement in an amount equivalent to unpaid license fees, in addition to legal costs. Netflix also had to pay a $3.5 million fine because it had been completely ignoring prior court orders until it finally disabled DivX’s deblocking technology.

Late last year (2025), this decision was fully confirmed by the Rio de Janeiro Appellate Court, consolidating the history of rejections of the more than 10 appeals filed by Netflix throughout the proceeding.

Litigation Model Breakdown

DivX's successful strategy in Brazil starts with the file of infringement lawsuits before the Rio de Janeiro specialized business courts, using strong infringement evidence to obtain injunctive orders halting infringement. The fact that the preliminary and permanent injunctions have been thoroughly based on technical evidence leads to firm orders with solid grounds for enforcement, strengthening DivX’s position in defending its patent rights.

DivX has been focusing on demonstrating its rightful cause and relying on the enforcement of local law to fight patent infringement. The company demonstrates confidence in its patent rights, which have been consistently validated by technical experts and courts, and this seems to be the secret for its successful track record in Brazil.

Licensees like Roku, Disney, and Vizio demonstrate that DivX's model is effective on a global scale - DivX says it has now licensed more than 75% of the global smart TV market, for example. Yet those who hold out risk fines and redesigns, as illustrated by the examples set by Amazon and Netflix itself.

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  Amanda Terra