VP8 and MPEG LA (WebM blog)

Yes. Patent law and copyright law are entirely different items. People lump them together and call them all 'IP', but it's not a accurate representation of how the law works.

Saying that you can take VP8 code and combine it with x264 to make a patent-free H.264 implementation (or whatever your approach is) is like saying: I paid my taxes this year so I can speed on the highway without fear of getting a ticket.