How AV1 Vets Intellectual Property Contributions

The Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) employs a multi-tiered legal and technical framework to vet all intellectual property (IP) before it is integrated into the AV1 video codec. To deliver a truly royalty-free, open-source standard, AOMedia combines strict member licensing agreements, deep code and algorithm reviews, aggressive prior art analysis, and ongoing scrutiny by independent patent attorneys. This vetting ensures that every tool within AV1 is either entirely original, part of the public domain, or covered by unencumbered, royalty-free patent grants.

The AOMedia Patent License Commitment

The vetting process begins with the legal commitments required of every contributor. AOMedia’s governing patent policy mandates that any member proposing code or an algorithmic tool must agree to grant a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual license to their "essential patent claims." This means a contributing company cannot later claim royalties for the technology they provided. Furthermore, this license includes a defensive termination clause: if a party sues an AOMedia member or adopter for patent infringement over AV1, that party forfeits their own license to the codec.

Technical Working Group Scrutiny

Before any contribution reaches the standard, it passes through AOMedia’s Codec Working Group. Engineers evaluate proposed tools not only for compression efficiency and performance, but also for technical overlap with existing proprietary standards, such as HEVC, VVC, and AVC. The group actively works to design alternative mathematical approaches and transformations to accomplish video compression goals without mimicking techniques patented by third-party patent pools.

Prior Art Searches and Novelty Evaluation

Contributions undergo rigorous prior art searches. Working group members and patent specialists examine existing literature, academic papers, expired patents, and earlier unpatented technologies (such as VP9 and VP10). If an idea resembles a patented solution, contributors either demonstrate that the underlying concept predates the rival patent (establishing prior art) or engineer a functionally novel workaround that safely circumvents the patent's claims.

Beyond internal member assessments, AOMedia engages specialized outside legal counsel and patent analysts to perform formal reviews of the specification. These attorneys systematically review the proposed code and bitstream definitions against the patent portfolios of major video-coding entities, such as MPEG LA and HEVC Advance pools. If an audit flags an unacceptably high risk of infringement, the candidate tool is either redesigned or stripped from the specification before the bitstream freeze.

The AOMedia Defense Fund

Vetting is complemented by a collective defense framework. AOMedia established the AOMedia Patent Defense Program to protect AV1 users. While the vetting process is designed to prevent infringing code from entering the specification, this defense fund provides legal support and cross-licensing resources to indemnify and defend standard implementers against third-party patent assertion entities (patent trolls) and competitors.