BOSTON & TAIPEI-Access Advance (“Advance”) and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (Asus) today announced that they have reached an 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, ending litigation between Asus and several of HEVC Advance’s licensors regarding HEVC standard essential patents.
“As a global technology leader that constantly innovates to deliver amazing experiences that improve people’s lives around the world, Asus continues to invest in R&D with a team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, including contributing to global technology standards. We are pleased to have concluded our discussions and look forward to a fruitful collaboration with the Advance team as we continue to adopt the latest standards-based technologies to enhance our product offerings,” said Vincent Hong, general counsel of ASUSTek Computer Inc.
“We welcome Asus as a valued licensee of the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance Patent Pools and appreciate the professionalism and collaboration of the Asus team in working with us to reach this agreement, which reaffirms that the terms and conditions, including our royalty rates, pool structure, and overlapping royalty policy, are FRAND. It is important to note that Asus has also decided to become a licensee of the VVC Pool and will take advantage of the Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement (MCBA), which offers significant discounts for products that incorporate both HEVC and VVC codecs. Major product categories are beginning to emerge that adopt VVC, including personal computers, and we are proud to offer the MCBA to help accelerate market adoption,” said Pete Moller, CEO of Access Advance.
“In addition to Asus, we recently welcomed Acer as a Licensee to the HEVC Advance Patent Pool. With leading PC manufacturers such as Acer and Asus joining Lenovo and Dell in licensing, the HEVC Advance Patent Pool now licenses a large portion of the personal computer market. We hope this will further encourage other unlicensed implementers to take advantage of the benefits our pooled licenses and the MCBA have to offer.”
About Access Advance:
Access Advance LLC is an independent licensing management company formed to lead the development, operation and management of a patent pool for licensing essential patents for the most critical 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 operates the HEVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing over 24,000 patents essential to H.265/HEVC technology, and the separate VVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing patents essential to VVC/H.266 technology. The HEVC Advance Patent Pool and VVC Advance Patent Pool are components of the Access Advance Video Codec Platform initiative, which seamlessly incorporates HEVC and VVC technologies into a single, discounted royalty fee structure through a Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement for eligible licensees whose products include both HEVC and VVC codecs. This innovation responds to market demand for a more efficient, next-generation pooled licensing structure. For more information, please visit www.accessadvance.com .
About ASUS:
ASUS is a global technology leader, delivering the world’s most innovative and intuitive devices, components and solutions, delivering amazing experiences that improve people’s lives around the world. With a team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, the company is world-renowned for continuously reinventing technology for today. Consistently ranked as one of Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies, ASUS is also committed to sustaining an incredible future. Its goal is to create a net-zero company that accelerates the transition to a circular economy and creates value for each and every one of us with a responsible supply chain.
Contacts
Jonathan Karush
+1.617.460.7815
press@accessadvance.com