In addition to Dolby, InterDigital can also be suing over AV1 [PDF] and is accusing some Amazon Hearth streaming gadgets of infringing on its patents by supporting the codec.
Moreover, European Union (EU) antitrust regulators investigated AOMedia’s licensing coverage in 2022 however closed the investigation in 2023 “for precedence causes,” an EU spokesperson informed Reuters on the time, noting that “the closure just isn’t a discovering of compliance or non-compliance of the conduct in query with EU competitors guidelines.”
The outcomes of Dolby’s and InterDigital’s lawsuits might have lasting implications for AV1 adoption, which lags behind that of HEVC eight years after its launch.
“Solely as a result of Huge Tech says a codec needs to be royalty-free doesn’t imply that it’s. … Given that every one codecs use considerably related methods, the danger of an infringement of patents belonging to events who didn’t supply royalty-free licenses is substantial,” mental property activist and commentator Florian Mueller informed Ars Technica.
Mueller mentioned that many streaming companies have operated with out video codec licenses for years as patent holders prioritized gathering royalties on {hardware} and software program merchandise. That has modified in recent times amid the expansion of streaming.
“Corporations like Amazon and Disney want to persuade courts that after a few years of nobody, or no less than no main participant, knocking at their doorways, they don’t must pay now,” Mueller, who runs the net publication IP Fray, mentioned.
Though the talk over whether or not a codec may be actually royalty-free goes again years, the talk round AV1 is getting extra consideration than earlier discussions. Dolby’s lawsuit specifically might have resounding implications on the AV1 normal ought to a choose determine that Dolby just isn’t obligated to license patented applied sciences mentioned to be leveraged by AV1.
As Mueller identified, HEVC was created with most important patent holders signing a FRAND licensing pledge, which differs from AV1’s creation:
With AV1, it might prove that there are much more patent holders on the market with important patents however no FRAND licensing obligation. In that case, they may theoretically ask for something, even extortionate quantities, as much as the purpose the place somebody would then cease implementing AV1. And the actually dangerous factor right here, which I’m certain just isn’t Dolby’s goal nevertheless it might be another person’s, is that somebody might purposely make prohibitive royalty calls for for AV1 in an effort to discourage use of the usual.
Dolby and Snap didn’t reply to requests for remark. An AOMedia spokesperson acknowledged receipt of our questions however didn’t present responses forward of publication.
