Dolby hits Barco over Dolby Vision patents
April 17, 2026
By Chris Forrester
Audio specialist Dolby Labs has filed a lawsuit against Belgian image and projector business Barco over claimed DR patents allegedly held by Dolby. Dolby is claiming that Barco has infringed two of its patents.
The case describes how HDR used by Barco and its ability to manipulate light to create high brightness and higher contrast, and, according to a report, three former Dolby staffers who now work for Barco were allegedly aware of this patent: the lead engineer behind the HDR by Barco project also led the team behind Dolby Vision.
In a statement sent to business magazine Forbes by Kurt Verheggen, general counsel for Barco, who stated: “Barco became aware at the start of CinemaCon that Dolby had filed a complaint. We have not yet had the opportunity to review the filing in detail and therefore will not comment on the allegations at this time. Barco will not litigate this matter in the press and will respond to the allegations in court. For more than 90 years, Barco has built its business on original innovation in visualization technology and places paramount importance on intellectual property rights, both its own and those of others.”
HDR by Barco claims much higher brightness levels than standard digital cinema equipment. While the latter typically sits around 48 nits, Dolby Cinema achieves 48 nits – but the HDR by Barco system bests this with up to 300 nits, enabling it to meet the DCI spec for cinema-grade HDR, states Forbes.
The claim will be heard by District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in the Texas Eastern District Court, and a jury trial has been requested.