Dolby sues Snap in U.S. and Brazil over AV1, HEVC
Dolby Video Compression has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Snap Inc. in the US and Brazil, alleging infringement of patents related to AV1 and HEVC video coding technologies. This legal action targets Snap as a social content platform and signals a shift by Dolby towards a "Patent As A Subscription" licensing model for video distribution, seeking recurring revenue rather than one-off hardware charges.
Key Takeaways
- Dolby filed two lawsuits against Snap: one in the U.S. and one in Brazil.
- The claims cover two codecs: AV1 and HEVC.
- Access Advance says it contacted Snap in August 2025 about licensing its Video Distribution Patent pool.
- Snap is a member of the Alliance for Open Media, which promotes AV1 as a royalty-free codec.
Why It Matters
This is a live patent licensing dispute around codecs used in modern video distribution, with Snap directly in the crosshairs. The case also shows how Access Advance is positioning its Video Distribution Patent pool around AV1 and HEVC, including Dolby’s patents, rather than relying only on hardware-focused licensing. For streaming and social video platforms, the relevant signal is whether this stays limited to Snap or becomes a broader licensing pattern for app and content distributors using AV1 and HEVC.
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