Entertainment Settlements in Brazil: Apple, Disney, and Patents

Entertainment settlements in Brazil over the past few years have reshaped how global technology and media companies operate in the country, from Apple’s agreement to open its iOS platform to third-party app stores, to Disney’s eleventh-hour deal with Starz over the “Star+” name, to court-ordered resolutions forcing Netflix and Disney to change the video technology behind their streaming services. Taken together, these outcomes have made Brazil one of the more consequential jurisdictions in the world for disputes involving apps, streaming, and media brands.

Apple’s Antitrust Deal With CADE

The most structural settlement came on December 23, 2025, when Apple signed a Cease and Desist Agreement with Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) to resolve an investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the iOS ecosystem.¹

The investigation began with a December 2022 complaint from Mercado Livre, South America’s largest online marketplace, which argued that Apple abused its dominant position in iOS app distribution.² Mercado Livre took issue with three practices: Apple’s ban on distributing third-party digital goods through apps, its requirement that developers use Apple’s in-app purchase system, and anti-steering clauses that stopped developers from even telling users about cheaper payment options.¹ One concrete grievance: Apple had blocked a Mercado Livre loyalty program that planned to bundle Disney+ and other third-party streaming services.

CADE’s General Superintendency found sufficient evidence of anticompetitive conduct in November 2024 and ordered Apple to begin opening its platform. Apple appealed. In May 2025, Commissioner Victor Oliveira Fernandes upheld the interim measure, rejecting Apple’s security and privacy justifications.² CADE then imposed daily fines of R$250,000 (around $46,000) to enforce the order.³ Apple opened settlement talks in July 2025 and signed the final agreement in December.

What Apple Agreed To

The settlement commits Apple to four structural changes on iOS in Brazil:

Allow alternative app distribution channels, letting other companies run their own app marketplaces on iPhones and iPads.¹
Permit developers to use third-party payment processors for in-app purchases rather than routing everything through Apple.⁴
Let developers tell users about alternative payment options and include links or buttons to external websites.¹
Use “neutral and objective language” in any warnings about third-party options, without creating barriers that discourage users from choosing them.⁵

The New Fee Structure

Commissions are now tiered. An app that only shows static text pointing users to an external payment site owes Apple nothing. If the app includes a clickable link or button sending users offsite, Apple takes 15%. Third-party app stores pay a 5% Core Technology Commission. Purchases that still flow through Apple’s App Store carry the combined commission of up to 30%.⁵

Deadlines, Fines, and Current Status

Apple had 105 days from signing to implement the changes, with a 120-day transition window for developers. The agreement runs for three years once the new terms become mandatory. Complete non-compliance exposes Apple to a fine of up to R$150 million (about $27 million) and the reopening of the investigation. Individual breaches of specific obligations carry fines of up to R$5 million each, and a monitoring trustee files semi-annual compliance reports.⁴ Apple also dropped its lawsuit challenging the earlier interim measures.¹

Rollout has been slow. By mid-2026, no third-party app store was actually live on iOS in Brazil. Apple released iOS 26.5 in May 2026 with a new “App Installation” setting designed to support alternative marketplaces, but the feature was not yet functional and the only option listed was Apple’s own App Store.⁶

Disney and Starz Settle the “Star+” Name

In June 2021, Starz, owned by Lionsgate, sued Disney in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, arguing that Disney’s planned “Star+” streaming service infringed on its “Starzplay” brand, which had been operating in Brazil since 2019.⁷

São Paulo judge Jorge Tosta granted Starz a preliminary injunction blocking Disney from using the “Star+” name in Brazil. He found that Starz held priority of use and registration, that consumers would end up calling both services “Star,” and that Disney’s “enormous marketing power” posed a real threat of brand dilution.⁸ Disney offered to post a 50 million reais bond (about $9.5 million) to cover any losses and launch anyway. The court rejected the offer.⁹

The two sides settled on August 19, 2021, twelve days before Disney’s scheduled Latin American launch, clearing Disney to use the “Star+” name. Financial terms were not disclosed; a Lionsgate spokesperson said the deal provided “significant benefits for both companies.”⁹ The parallel settlement in Argentina was denied by the courts, and the Mexico case remained unresolved at the time.

Star+ launched as planned on August 31, 2021, but did not last long as a standalone brand. Disney merged Star+ into Disney+ across Latin America in June 2024.¹⁰ By late 2025, after acquiring Comcast’s stake in Hulu, Disney replaced the “Star” brand internationally with Hulu as a tile inside the Disney+ app.¹¹

Streaming Patent Fights That Forced Changes

Two patent cases against streaming giants resolved not through negotiated settlements but through court orders the companies ultimately complied with, each reshaping the technology behind streaming in Brazil.

DivX v. Netflix

In December 2023, the 5th Business Court of the Rio de Janeiro State Court issued a permanent injunction against Netflix over patent BRPI0506163A, which the court deemed essential to the HEVC (H.265) video codec standard. It was the first permanent injunction in a tech patent case in Brazil.¹²

Netflix initially ignored the court’s orders, drew a $3.5 million contempt fine, and eventually disabled the infringing technology from its Brazilian service.¹³ The 5th Private Law Chamber of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice upheld the trial court’s judgment in late 2025, rejecting more than ten Netflix appeals. The appellate court also rejected Netflix’s argument that a FRAND royalty regime should replace the injunction, holding that Brazil’s patent system is “structurally binary”: unauthorized use is infringement, and only licensed use is lawful.¹⁴

InterDigital v. Disney

In September 2025, InterDigital won a preliminary injunction against Disney in the 7th Corporate Court of Rio de Janeiro over two patents covering AVC and HEVC video coding techniques.¹⁵ A court-appointed expert produced a 200-page report confirming infringement. Judge Simone Gastesi Chevrand ordered Disney to stop encoding or distributing video in Brazil using the infringing formats within five days, under penalty of about $18,000 per day. The court also held that InterDigital had no FRAND licensing obligation for the specific encoder claims at issue, cutting off a standard defense.¹⁶ Disney reportedly complied by reconfiguring its video encoders.¹⁷

What Isn’t Covered: Live Nation’s U.S. Settlement

In March 2026, Live Nation reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its dominance of ticketing and concert promotion. The deal includes a $280 million fund for participating states, divestiture of exclusive booking agreements at 13 amphitheaters, a 15% cap on ticket service fees at those venues, and an eight-year extension of Live Nation’s consent decree with the DOJ.¹⁸¹⁹²⁰

1
CADE. CADE Signs a Cease and Desist Agreement With Apple
2
American Bar Association. Beyond Anti-Steering
3
Law & Economics Center. Apple in Brazil’s Antitrust Orchard
4
CADE. Application No. 08700.006953/2025-62 – Opinion
5
MacRumors. New App Store Fee Structure in Brazil
6
Mac Daily News. Apple’s iOS 26.5 Brings New App Installation Setting to Brazil
7
Variety. Starz Star Plus Streaming Brazil Injunction
8
The Wrap. Disney Blocked Star Streaming Service Brazil
9
Variety. Disney Starz Star Plus Latin America
10
What’s on Disney Plus. Disney Reveals Lineup Following Merging With Star in Latin America
11
Deadline. Hulu to Become International Tile on Disney Replacing Star
12
IPFray. Netflix First to Be Permanently Enjoined Over Brazilian Standard Essential Patent
13
Licks Legal. Lessons From DivX: A Model for Ensuring Patent Protection in Brazil
14
RNA Law. SEP Litigation in Brazil: Five Big Developments
15
IPFray. InterDigital’s Brazilian Double-Whammy Against Disney
16
InterDigital. InterDigital Awarded Injunction Against Disney
17
IAM. Brazil SEPs and FRAND Litigation Policy and Latest Developments
18
NPR. Live Nation Ticketmaster DOJ Antitrust Case
19
Live Nation. Live Nation Entertainment Reaches Settlement With U.S. Department of Justice
20
Valor Internacional. T4F Exits Stock Market as Global Players Reshape Live Events