BOSTON -- Access Advance LLC (“Advance”) announced the results of several significant decisions by the Licensors in both the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance Patent Pools. Both patent pools opted to maintain their current royalty rates and caps for Licensees who sign before December 31, 2025, and to extend an incentive that aligns the royalty caps for Advance’s Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement (“MCBA”) and the VVC Advance Patent Pool for Licensees who sign the MCBA during the same period.

The result is that Licensees who join the HEVC Advance program, gaining access to more than 27,000 patents, on or before December 31, 2025, can lock in current rates and caps through 2030. This protection applies both to ongoing royalty obligations and calculation of royalties due for past sales.

Additionally, both current and new HEVC Advance Licensees who join the VVC Advance Patent Pool and execute the MCBA by December 31, 2025, will enjoy MCBA royalty caps that match the royalty caps for the VVC Advance program. This reflects an extension of an incentive that expired June 30, 2022, and locks in current rates through 2030, effectively reducing the current MCBA royalty caps and reinforcing Access Advance's commitment to rewarding early adopters of its platform licensing approach.

Beginning on January 1, 2026, the HEVC royalty rates will be updated to align HEVC Advance pricing with the existing VVC Advance royalty rate structure, which the VVC Advance Licensors voted to maintain at current levels through 2030, making the value proposition of the MCBA even more beneficial for Licensees across Access Advance's video codec platform licensing programs.

“Access Advance is pleased that both groups of Licensors opted for marketplace stability and predictability with their decisions largely to maintain rates and caps at existing levels and providing an additional incentive for Licensees to sign the MCBA. After nearly a decade of stable HEVC rates, the measured adjustment for Licensees joining after 2025 reflects the tremendous growth and value that the HEVC Advance Patent Pool now delivers to the marketplace in light of the increased prevalence of HEVC devices and content,” said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. “When we launched, we anticipated coverage of approximately 35% of all HEVC standard essential patents. Today, our pool represents an estimated 75-80% of the global HEVC patent landscape - more than doubling our initial projections. The approved rate adjustment of 25%, which will go into effect for new Licensees on January 1, 2026, while less than a full doubling that our coverage would justify, ensures fair compensation for innovators while maintaining our commitment to transparent, FRAND licensing. And, with these changes, there are clear benefits to a company joining our VVC program and securing the MCBA’s discounts even if their products do not yet include VVC functionality.”

Industry-Leading Patent Coverage

The HEVC Advance Patent Pool has evolved from its initial launch with fewer than 500 patents to become the industry's most comprehensive licensing solution, now covering over 27,000 patents essential to H.265/HEVC technology. This dramatic expansion represents the largest consolidation of HEVC standard-essential patents available through any single licensing program globally.

The patent pool‘s success in attracting major patent holders demonstrates the market’s confidence in Access Advance's balanced approach to intellectual property licensing. Recent additions include leading technology companies across mobile devices, consumer electronics, automotive, and emerging IOT applications.

Opportunity for Flexibility, Savings and Efficiencies

Access Advance encourages both current licensees and prospective partners to evaluate their multi-codec licensing strategies before the December 31, 2025 deadline. Companies implementing both HEVC and next-generation VVC technologies can realize significant cost savings and operational efficiencies through the MCBA structure.

The alignment of HEVC rates with VVC rates also creates opportunities for companies to adopt a unified approach to video codec licensing across their product portfolios, simplifying compliance obligations while accessing the industry's most comprehensive patent coverage, and providing maximum flexibility for future technology adoption.