Access Advance Announces New Effective Discount Rates for Its Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement, Starting on January 1, 2027

Access Advance LLC today announced that the Licensors of the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance Patent Pools have independently approved a two-step, phased reduction in the effective royalty discount available under the Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement (MCBA) for Licensees of both pools who sign the MCBA on or after January 1, 2027. Licensees that join both the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance Patent Pools and execute the MCBA on or before December 31, 2026, will secure the current MCBA rates, resulting in an effective discount of up to 50%. Licensees that sign on or after January 1, 2027 will receive a reduced discount as further described below.

The MCBA is an administrative agreement, not a separate license, that lets Licensees of both HEVC Advance and VVC Advance Patent Pools pay a single, reduced royalty rate for products that include both HEVC and VVC codecs. Today the MCBA rate for a dual-codec product is the same as the VVC Advance single codec product rate; up to 50% of what a Licensee would pay under the two pool licenses separately.

With the upcoming change in the discount rates, the size of the effective MCBA discount for a given Licensee will depend both on when the Licensee joins both pools and when it signs the MCBA. The MCBA discount will be as follows:

• Up to 50% for Licensees that join both pools and execute the MCBA on or before December 31, 2026
• Up to 40% for Licensees that join both pools and execute the MCBA from January 1, 2027, through June 30, 2027
• Up to 25% for Licensees that join both pools and execute the MCBA on or after July 1, 2027

Current Licensees who have already signed an MCBA are not affected by this change and will keep their existing rates.

As an example, for a mobile device with both HEVC and VVC codecs in Region 1, the current HEVC Advance and VVC Advance stand-alone rates would total $1.00 per unit ($0.50/unit to each pool). Under the MCBA, that same mobile device carries a royalty of $0.50 for Licensees that sign by December 31, 2026, $0.60 for those that sign in the first half of 2027, and $0.75 for those that sign on or after July 1, 2027.

The rates for all device types are below:

	Existing HEVC Licensees (On or Before June 30, 2026)	HEVC Licensees (After June 30, 2026)	VVC Licensees (All)	Current MCBA (On or Before December 31, 2026)	New MCBA Phase 1 (On or Before June 30, 2027)	New MCBA Phase 2 (After June 30, 2027)
Mobile Devices	R1: $0.40 R2: $0.20	R1: $0.50 R2: $0.25	R1: $0.50 R2: $0.25	R1: $0.50 R2: $0.25	R1: $0.60 R2: $0.30	R1: $0.75 R2: $0.375
Connected Home & Other Devices	R1: $0.80 R2: $0.40	R1: $1.00 R2: $0.50	R1: $1.00 R2: $0.50	R1: $1.00 R2: $0.50	R1: $1.20 R2: $0.60	R1: $1.50 R2: $0.75
4K UHD+ Television/Display	R1: $1.20 R2: $0.60	R1: $1.50 R2: $0.75	R1: $1.50 R2: $0.75	R1: $1.50 R2: $0.75	R1: $1.80 R2: $0.90	R1: $2.25 R2: $1.125
Content on Digital Media Storage	R1: $0.0225 R2: $0.01125	R1: $0.028 R2: $0.014	R1: $0.028 R2: $0.014	R1: $0.028 R2: $0.014	R1: $0.0336 R2: $0.0168	R1: $0.042 R2: $0.021

All rates shown reflect the In-Compliance rates with the trademark discount in each category.

The royalty caps under the MCBA are not changing. Licensees having the MCBA also continue to receive simplified reporting, invoicing and payment, a single patent marking notice and trademark logo that satisfy both pool licenses, a 20% limit on rate and cap increases per renewal term, and license terms that are certain through 2035.

"For five years, the MCBA has given companies that build, or plan to build, products with both HEVC and VVC a single, lower-cost way to license the two codecs together," said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. "While the MCBA discount is being moderately reduced, it remains significant. As more products add VVC alongside HEVC, companies that have not yet joined both pools and signed the MCBA have until the end of the year to secure the current discount."

Companies interested in the HEVC Advance Patent Pool, the VVC Advance Patent Pool and the MCBA can contact Access Advance at licensing@accessadvance.com. Current rate information is available at accessadvance.com.

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