It appears that Qualcomm has officially added support for the AV1 codec to its upcoming flagship Snapdragon SoC, which rather sets the stage for a sink or swim moment in the sector. We know that companies not part of the Sisvel patent pool believe AV1 infringes on their intellectual property, and so Qualcomm’s launch would mark the point of no return. Notably, Qualcomm pulled out of its HEVC patent agreement with Velos Media, in September 2021, saying it was “exploring options for the future.” It is not a member of either the MPEG LA or Access Advance VVC pools, meaning that it is still something of a wildcard – not aligned with either camp, but holding patents relevant to both…