Companies that become Licensees of the HEVC Advance program on or before June 30, 2026 will secure current royalty rates for both ongoing royalties and calculation of royalties for past sales. This is a temporary postponement of the 25% increase in rates and caps applicable to Licensees who sign up after the previous December 31, 2025 deadline.

The extension also applies to the Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement ("MCBA"), which provides a single discounted royalty rate structure for Licensees in both the HEVC Advance Patent Pool and the VVC Advance Patent Pool. Licensees who execute the MCBA by June 30, 2026 will benefit from royalty caps that match the royalty caps for the VVC Advance program.

The extension follows Access Advance's record 4th Quarter growth in all three main patent pools, a 100% renewal rate among HEVC Advance Licensees in good standing, the resolution of multiple enforcements actions by Licensors, and the December 2025 acquisition of the administrator of Via LA's HEVC/VVC patent pool, now independently operating as VCL Advance.

"Our Licensors recognized that the end of 2025 came with many important changes to the HEVC/VVC licensing landscape,” said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. “They felt it important to extend the opportunity and incentive for prospective Licensees to join HEVC Advance and VVC Advance and take advantage of the MCBA’s benefits. This extension provides additional time for prospective Licensees to assess their options and lock in current royalty rates through 2030."

About Access Advance:

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 video codec technologies. Access Advance provides a transparent and efficient licensing mechanism for both patent owners and patent implementers.

Access Advance manages and administers the HEVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing over 29,000 patents essential to HEVC/H.265 technology and the VVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing over 4,500 patents essential to VVC/H.266 technology. The company's Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement provides eligible licensees with a single discounted royalty rate structure for licensees participating in both the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance pools. In addition, Access Advance offers the Video Distribution Patent Pool, a comprehensive licensing solution for video streaming services covering HEVC, VVC, VP9, and AV1 codecs. Access Advance has also acquired the administrator of Via LA’s HEVC/VVC patent pool, now named the VCL Advance (Video Codec Licensing) program. For more information, please visit: www.accessadvance.com.