AOMedia reveals AV2 specification as Dolby-Snap legal battle intensifies

The finalization of AV2 marks a strategic pivot for the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) as it attempts to maintain technical parity with VVC while operating under a royalty-free policy. However, the Dolby v. Snap litigation signals a breakdown in the safe-haven narrative for open codecs, as non-AOM members assert HEVC-era patents against modern implementations. This suggests that streaming platforms can no longer rely on 'royalty-free' labels as a legal shield. For the ecosystem, this creates a high-stakes environment where technical adoption of AV2 must be paired with aggressive IP diligence. Watch for the outcome of the UPC Munich Local Division rulings in the Dolby-Snap case as a milestone for future codec enforcement.

The video codec landscape has become increasingly litigious in 2026 as patent pools aggressiveley expand their reach into streaming. In July 2026, Access Advance announced that 12 new licensors, including Sharp and Tagivan, joined its Video Distribution Patent (VDP) pool, which now covers HEVC, VVC, AV1, and VP9. This expansion follows a major milestone in early July 2026 when Alibaba and Meta became licensees of the VDP pool, per reports from PRIP and Bloomberg. These moves indicate a shift where even major AOMedia members are beginning to hedge their legal exposure through pool licenses despite the alliance's official royalty-free stance.

Relatedly, InterDigital’s longstanding dispute with Amazon over AV1 and HDR patents in Fire TV devices moved toward private arbitration in June 2026. Per IP Fray, the parties reached a consent order in the UK High Court to determine FRAND terms, potentially ending high-profile litigation in the U.S. and Germany. Simultaneously, Sisvel confirmed in late 2025 that its AV1 pool had already licensed approximately 50% of the finished-product hardware market, including TVs and set-top boxes, highlighting that the economic reality of AV1 has shifted away from a zero-cost model for most global hardware manufacturers.

Technically, AV2 enters a crowded market where hardware support remains the primary bottleneck. While VeriSilicon announced an AV2 decode IP core in June 2026, analysts at the Streaming Learning Center suggest that typical hardware adoption cycles mean AV2-capable consumer devices will likely not reach critical mass until late 2027 or 2028. This lag provides a narrow window for streaming platforms to conduct the prior art research recommended by IP experts to challenge the validity of older patents being 'recycled' for new specifications.