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But if these companies hold patents that are being infringed by AV1 they don't have to join AOM they could also… sue them.

This whole thing seems to be a breeding ground for submarine patents, where in the end nobody has an actual applicable patent to show but the thread of pulling one out of the hat is there to make things worse.

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It’s never that simple.

They have to join AOM if they want to use AV1 and they need to use AV1 if they want to be relevant because all the big players banded together and made that unavoidable. That’s the heart of the anticompetitive argument.

Most companies don’t exist to sue for patent infringement. They are not patent trolls. The point of competition law is that they should be able to do business without having to go to court with a conglomerate.

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