AV1’s open, royalty-free promise in question as Dolby sues Snapchat over codec

Dolby's lawsuit against Snapchat over AV1 usage threatens the codec's open, royalty-free promise, impacting 500 million monthly Snapchat users. This challenge is more severe than the average patent dispute, as it could impose licensing fees up to $0.10 per device—a 30% premium over comparable codecs—potentially undermining AV1's viability as a free standard for web video.