Dolby Laboratories has sued Snapchat for allegedly infringing patents related to the AV1 video codec, challenging AV1's status as a royalty-free standard. The lawsuit claims AV1 incorporates technologies covered by Dolby's existing patents, which were not licensed for free use. This legal action raises concerns about the open, royalty-free promise of AV1 and could impact its adoption across the tech industry.
Background
AV1 is an open, royalty-free video codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) as an alternative to proprietary codecs like HEVC/H.265. It aims to reduce licensing costs and promote wider adoption in streaming and hardware.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Mar 28, 2026 at 04:31 AM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10