Twenty-Eight (28) Patent Owners Became Licensors

BOSTON, Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Access Advance today announced that twenty-eight (28) companies, which together are estimated to account for a substantial percentage of the expected VVC standard essential patent ("SEP") landscape, have joined as Licensors of the VVC Advance Patent Pool. VVC ("Versatile Video Coding") is the next generation video codec standard finalized less than eighteen (18) months ago, which provides significant improvements in video compression of up to 50% over HEVC, enabling a new generation of products, ever more beautiful video, faster downloads, lower latency, and improved savings on storage.

The list of VVC Advance Licensors includes the following:

• Alibaba Singapore Holding Private Limited
• ARRIS Enterprises LLC, a CommScope Company
• B1 Institute of Image Technology, INC.
• Company to be disclosed at a later date
• Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
• Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• GE Video Compression, LLC
• Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1
• HFI Innovation Inc.
• IDEAHUB Inc.
• Industry-Academy Cooperation Foundation of Sejong University
• Intellectual Discovery Co., Ltd.
• IUCF-HYU (Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Hanyang University)
• JVCKENWOOD Corporation
• KDDI Corporation
• Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology
• Korean Broadcasting System
• Kuaishou Technology
• Kwangwoon University, Industry-Academic Collaboration Foundation
• Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• OP Solutions, LLC
• Panasonic Corporation
• SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) Research & Business Foundation
• Toshiba Corporation
• University-Industry Cooperation Group of Kyung Hee University
• XRIS Corporation

"This is a tremendous endorsement of the VVC Advance Patent Pool and our Video Codec Platform Initiative, and we thank each of the patent owners that have placed their trust in Access Advance to license their VVC SEP patent assets," stated Pete Moller, CEO of Access Advance.  "Launching a patent pool for a ground-breaking technology like VVC is a long and multi-stage process. We worked with over fifty (50) patent owners for well over 18 months to establish the structure of the program and launched the VVC Advance Patent Pool on schedule July 1, 2021. We are excited that a significant majority of these patent owners have now officially joined the program as Licensors. These Licensors provide a critical mass of VVC SEPs, and an important assurance to the market that VVC Advance, just like HEVC Advance, will provide long-term value through a balanced and successful program."

"We look forward to working with the remaining patent owners who are still going through their decision-making process and expect that many of them will make the decision to join VVC Advance over the next six (6) months," continued Mr. Moller.  "There are significant incentives for patent owners and patent implementers who join the program by June 30, 2022. These include bonus patent points for Licensors, and very significant early signing cap incentives for Licensees."

The VVC Advance Patent Pool is part of the Access Advance Video Codec Platform Initiative that seamlessly incorporates HEVC and VVC technologies into a single discounted royalty rate structure with simplified reporting and payment obligations for Licensees whose products include both codecs. This innovation responds to the market's desire for an even more efficient next-generation pool licensing structure. Licensees that have executed both the HEVC Advance Platform Patent Portfolio License ("PPL") and the VVC Advance Platform PPL have the option to enjoy additional benefits via execution of the new Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement ("MCBA"). The MCBA is not a third license; rather, it is an administrative agreement that bridges the HEVC Advance License and the VVC Advance License for implementers who have executed both licenses and the MCBA itself. Those Licensees will enjoy a discounted royalty rate for each of the HEVC and VVC codecs in their multi-codec products that are sold after MCBA execution, that results in the same royalty rate as they would pay for a product that includes only VVC.

Royalty payments under the VVC Advance Platform PPL are required for sales of VVC products starting January 1, 2022. Access Advance encourages interested parties to act quickly to take advantage of the incentives and discounted MCBA rates as discussed above.

About Access Advance:

Access Advance LLC (formerly HEVC Advance LLC) is an independent licensing administrator company formed to lead the development, administration, and management of patent pools for licensing essential patents of the most important standards-based video codec technologies. Access Advance provides a transparent and efficient licensing mechanism for both patent owners and patent implementers. Access Advance currently manages and administers the HEVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing patents essential to H.265/HEVC technology, and the separate and independent VVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing essential patents to VVC/H.266 technology.  For more information, please visit www.accessadvance.com.

Contact: press@accessadvance.com