Editing VP3 (section)

===Theora===
{{Main|Theora#History}}
In June 2002 On2 donated VP3 to the [[Xiph.org Foundation]] under a [[BSD License|BSD]]-like [[open source license]] to make VP3 the basis of a new, free (e.g. patent- and royalty-free) video codec, [[Theora]].<ref>On2 (2002-06-24) [http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=486&news_id=313 VP3 Combines with Vorbis to Create First Open-Source Multimedia Platform] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203061350/http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=486&news_id=313 |date=2007-12-03 }}, Retrieved on 2009-08-16</ref><ref>InternetNews.com (2002-06-24) [http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/1370341 On2 Throws More Open-Source at MPEG-4], Retrieved on 2009-08-16</ref>

The free video codec Theora was forked off from the released codebase of VP3.2 and further developed into an independent codec. On2 declared Theora to be the successor in VP3's lineage.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

Theora developers declared a [[Freeze (software engineering)|freeze]] on the Theora I bitstream format in June 2004, allowing other companies to start implementing encoders and decoders for the format without worrying about the format changing in incompatible ways.<ref name="theora-freeze">{{cite mailing list | url = http://lists.xiph.org/pipermail/theora-dev/2004-June/001112.html | title = Theora I bitstream freeze | mailing-list = theora-dev | date = 1 June 2004 | last = Giles |first = Ralph |access-date=25 September 2009}}</ref> The ''Theora I Specification'' was published in September 2004.<ref name="theoraspec-2004">{{Cite web | author=Xiph. Org Foundation | title = Theora I Specification, Xiph.org Foundation, September 17, 2004 | url = http://www.theora.org/doc/Theora_I_spec.pdf  | access-date=26 September 2009 | date = 17 September 2004 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040928224506/http://www.theora.org/doc/Theora_I_spec.pdf |archive-date = 28 September 2004}}</ref> Any later changes in the specification are minor updates. A first stable release (version 1.0) of the Theora [[reference implementation]] (libtheora) was released in November 2008.<ref>{{cite mailing list | url = http://lists.xiph.org/pipermail/theora-dev/2008-November/003736.html | title = Theora 1.0 final release! | mailing-list = theora-dev | date = 3 November 2008 | last = Giles |first = Ralph |access-date=4 November 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release
  | title = The Xiph. Org Foundation announces the release of Theora 1.0
  | publisher = Xiph. Org Foundation | date = 3 November 2008
  | url = http://www.xiph.org/press/2008/theora-release-1.0/ | access-date = 6 August 2009
}}</ref>