The Unified Patent Court (UPC) has sided with adult entertainment conglomerate Aylo Premium, the Montreal-based parent company of Pornhub, in a key legal dispute over adaptive video streaming technology brought by U.S. satellite and IPTV provider DISH Network.

In a ruling issued Wednesday by the UPC’s Central Division in Paris, the court partially revoked the German portion of DISH’s European patent EP 3822805, which covered adaptive-rate streaming technology. The system allows video quality to adjust in real-time, depending on a viewer’s network conditions and device capabilities, which is critical for delivering smooth playback across varying internet connections.

Aylo, which employs similar technology across its suite of premium streaming platforms, challenged the validity of the patent in Germany, where DISH had attempted to enforce its intellectual property rights. The court found that DISH’s claims exceeded those originally filed and granted, effectively narrowing or nullifying the patent’s enforceability in Germany.

The UPC also ordered DISH to cover the full legal costs incurred by Aylo during the proceedings.

While the decision applies only to the German portion of the patent, it marks a significant defeat for DISH, which maintains that its technology is foundational to modern streaming services. The UPC confirmed that Aylo was legally entitled to target the German segment of the patent specifically, despite its registration in multiple jurisdictions within the European Union.

The two companies remain entangled in a second dispute before the UPC over a separate but related European patent, EP 2479680, which also addresses core elements of adaptive streaming technology.

This ruling represents a strategic victory for Aylo in protecting its digital infrastructure, as it fends off claims that could impact the streaming models of its adult entertainment services, which are among the most heavily trafficked video platforms in the world.

DISH has not yet publicly responded to the ruling or confirmed whether it plans to appeal.