Access Advance Welcomes Major PC OEMs to its HEVC and VVC Patent Pools

Access Advance (“Advance”) and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (“Asus”) today announced that the parties have reached agreement for Asus to join the HEVC Advance HEVC/H.265 Patent Pool and the VVC Advance VVC/H.266 Patent pool as a Licensee. This ends the litigation related to HEVC standard essential patents between Asus and several HEVC Advance Licensors.

“As a global technology leader that constantly innovates to deliver incredible experiences that enhance the lives of people everywhere, Asus continues to invest in R&D with its team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, including contributing to global technology standards,” commented Vincent Hong, General Counsel, ASUSTek Computer Inc. “Over the past few months, the Asus team and the Advance team worked hard to understand each other’s issues and collaborated with each other to resolve these issues. I am glad that we are now able to put the disputes behind us and look forward to a fruitful collaboration with the Advance team as we continue to work on adopting the latest standard-based technology to enhance our product offerings.”

“We are pleased to welcome Asus as a valued Licensee in the HEVC Advance and the VVC Advance Patent Pools and thank the Asus team for their professionalism and collaboration in working with us to reach agreement,” stated Pete Moller, Access Advance CEO. “This once again provides confirmation that our royalty rates, pool structure, and terms, including our Duplicate Royalty Policy, are FRAND. It is worth highlighting that Asus also decided to become a Licensee of our VVC pool and take advantage of our Multi-codec Bridging Agreement (the “MCBA”), which provides significant discounts for products that incorporate both HEVC and VVC codecs. We are starting to see major product categories, including personal computers, adopting VVC and are proud to offer the MCBA to facilitate market adoption.”

“In addition to Asus, we have also recently welcomed Acer as a Licensee of the HEVC Advance Patent Pool. With major PC manufacturers such as Acer and Asus becoming licensed, following Lenovo and Dell, our HEVC Advance Patent Pool has now licensed a significant majority of the personal computer market. We hope this will further encourage other unlicensed implementers to also take advantage of the benefits offered by our pool licenses and the MCBA.”

About Access Advance:

Access 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 over 24,000 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. The HEVC Advance Patent Pool and the VVC Advance Patent Pool are elements of the Access Advance Video Codec Platform Initiative that seamlessly incorporates HEVC and VVC technologies into a single discounted royalty rate structure through the Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement for eligible Licensees whose products include both HEVC and VVC codecs. This innovation responds to the market’s desire for an even more efficient next-generation pool licensing structure. For more information, please visit www.accessadvance.com.

About ASUS:

ASUS is a global technology leader that provides the world’s most innovative and intuitive devices, components, and solutions to deliver incredible experiences that enhance the lives of people everywhere. With its team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, the company is world-renowned for continuously reimagining today’s technologies. Consistently ranked as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, ASUS is also committed to sustaining an incredible future. The goal is to create a net zero enterprise that helps drive the shift towards a circular economy, with a responsible supply chain creating shared value for every one of us.

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