[Omin]

It's supposed to be royalty free, but there are patents for the techniques used in it which are used defensively. If someone has a patent to a technique used in AV1, then they could still demand royalties and some patent trolls have been trying. Wikipedia has a section on it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AV1#Patent_Claims

[jorvi]

Wasn’t part of AV1’s charm that anyone trying to sue an AV1 licensee would be nuked from orbit by the legal expertise and patent trove of the collective AV1 companies / AOM?