commanderFirm quietly boosts H.264 streaming license fees from $100,000 up to staggering $4.5 million — backbone codec of the internet gets meteoric increase, AVC hikes follow disastrous H.265 licensing increa
Here’s why it doesn’t matter:
“AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) is an open, royalty-free video coding format initially designed for video transmissions over the Internet. It was developed as a successor to VP9 by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia),[3] a consortium founded in 2015 that includes semiconductor firms, video on demand providers, video content producers, software development companies and web browser vendors.”
The_DecryptorThe best part of the article is the very end, even if the site makes it look unrelated.
Avanci’s Video pool and Access Advance’s Video Distribution Patent pool are both now seeking content royalties from streaming services for the use of HEVC, VVC, VP9, and AV1. Access Advance’s rates are capped at roughly $63 million per year, and Avanci has published rates of 1.6% to 2.0% of revenue or $0.12 to $0.15 per user per month.
$4.5 million max for H.264 is rookie numbers vs. the $63 million max for AV1
How does someone seek royalties on an open, royalty-free video coding format?
By claiming that you own patents on technology used by said format.
The “open royalty free” aspect applies to companies that are a part of the AOMedia group, if you’re not involved with them you’re not covered by the patent grants and restrictions in place, and can charge whatever the courts say is cool.