Dolby Sues Snap, Challenging AV1 Codec's Royalty-Free Status
Dolby Laboratories has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Snap Inc. in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. The suit alleges that Snap's use of the HEVC and AV1 video codecs in its Snapchat application infringes on four of Dolby's patents. Dolby's filing claims that despite the Alliance for Open Media's development of AV1, the specification incorporates technologies also found in HEVC that are subject to existing third-party patent rights and for which Snap has not paid royalties.
Key Takeaways
- The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court of Delaware, alleges infringement on four Dolby patents.
- Dolby's filing argues that the AV1 specification incorporates patented technologies that are also present in HEVC.
- The complaint notes Snap's software tracks device support for AV1 to determine when to stream with the codec.
- Dolby asserts Snap has used the patented technology without paying required royalties.
Why It Matters
This lawsuit directly challenges the perceived 'royalty-free' nature of AV1, a cornerstone of open media efforts. By asserting that AV1 uses patented HEVC technologies, Dolby signals that patent holders may pursue licensing fees from implementers, regardless of the codec's Alliance for Open Media origins. This could complicate the total cost of ownership calculations for services that adopted AV1 to avoid HEVC's patent pools. Watch for similar actions against other large-scale AV1 users or a formal response from the Alliance for Open Media.
Read full article at twice.com
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