RED.com LLC sued Nikon, claiming that the N-RAW format introduced in the Nikon Z9 camera 2.0 firmware update infringed seven of its patents.
The Nikon Z9 has released the 2.0 firmware update, which supports its own " N-RAW format ", supports 8.3K 60-frame RAW internal video recording, and supports 4.1K 60-frame ProRes RAW HQ internal video recording. According to Nikon, N-RAW contains all the depth and detail of 12-bit RAW video at half the file size of the ProRes RAW HQ format.
The Nikon N-RAW format benefits from intoPIX's TicoRAW technology , the partnership announced last December. At the time, intoPIX said that, thanks to "innovative processing and encoding," its technology could provide the most efficient RAW files possible without compromising image integrity at all. This process will preserve the full functionality of the image sensor while reducing bandwidth, storage requirements and transfer time.
RED noted in the lawsuit that the Nikon Z9 uses its patented video compression format:
The camera can be configured to convert blue and red image data in a way that enhances data compressibility. Data can then be compressed and stored in this form. This allows the user to reconstruct the red and blue data to obtain a modified version of the original raw data that is visually lossless when demosaiced. Additionally, the data can be processed so that the green pic elements are demosaiced first, and then the red and blue elements are reconstructed from the values of the demosaiced green pic elements.
RED's lawsuit alleges that Nikon's infringement of its patents was "intentional" and claims that Nikon was aware of RED's patents.
This is not the first time RED has filed a lawsuit to protect its internal recording RAW patent. It has already sued Kinefinity, Sony, Nokia, etc. before. If Nikon loses the case, the N-RAW format may be pulled from the Z9 camera.
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