Video Distribution Patent Pool Q&A
We are launching the Video Distribution Patent (“VDP”) Pool now because our discussions over the past 12-15 months with both patent holders and implementers in the video streaming market have confirmed for us that they need a licensing program that resolves the increasingly “hot” issue of video codec licensing. Over the last 10 years, and particularly in the recent 3-4 years since the pandemic, video streaming has grown exponentially and is now the main source of video entertainment for many consumers. This growth was in large part enabled by modern video codecs that allow service providers to deliver high value immersive video experiences such as 4K, HDR, and virtual reality, allowing them to fit this rapidly growing traffic within the existing pipeline while saving significant costs throughout their distribution chain. In such a market environment, many patent owners are beginning to seek royalties from the streaming service providers, and, of course, some are already litigating against them. We know that many others are preparing to seek royalties as well. In our discussions with both patent holders and streaming providers, both have said that they were looking to us, as the administrator of the largest and most widely trusted patent pools licensing the current and next generation of video codecs, to step in and help provide a solution to the market.
The VDP Pool license covers any branded offering (e.g., a service or website) through which video encoded in one or more of the four covered codecs (HEVC, VVC, AV1 and VP9) is transmitted over the Internet for viewing, primarily by natural persons or entities other than the content provider.
The VDP Pool provides a royalty credit for companies that operate streaming services with limited users, subscribers, and revenue.
No, these are separate patent pools focused on different markets, although they will have many common licensors and some common licensees. The HEVC and VVC Advance Patent Pools are focused on licensing devices and software. The VDP Pool is focused on licensing video streaming, i.e., the use of the codecs to encode or transmit commercial video content in video streaming services.
The solution that we are offering – a license to all four codecs for one price – is one that every patent implementer told us was critical. It puts all the codecs on a level playing field and lets each streaming company decide which codec, or codecs, to use based solely on the technical and business merits of the role each codec plays in that company’s business. This may sound simple, but in fact it entailed a number of complex issues that needed to be resolved. Over the last year, we worked hard at these issues and held many discussions with market participants, and we came up with an innovative solution that responds to what the market has requested, and that we believe both implementers and patent owners will embrace.
This approach further solves a significant problem for licensees in the dynamic video distribution segment: the need to negotiate for new licenses and pay additional royalties as they add streams in additional codecs. It takes the licensing issue out of the equation and allows the licensee to choose the codec(s) based on their business and technical requirements.
In addition to offering implementers a single price for use of all four codecs, another important innovation in our VDP Pool is that the license is structured so that the practice of a codec covered by pool patents triggers a license to those patents for the practice of such codec. As a result, a licensee will be licensed to all the SEPs for each codec it uses but will not be licensed – or be required to take a license it does not need – to the SEPs for any codec it does not use.
For further information see: Video Distribution Patent Pool Whitepaper dated January 1, 2025.
The VDP license has the same industry-leading duplicate royalty policy as our HEVC and VVC Advance Patent Pools. In essence, we simply deduct the duplicate portion of royalties that would have been distributed to a licensor on account of the overlapping patents from the invoice of a licensee with a prior joint licensing or bilateral license with that licensor, so that the licensor does not receive any duplicate royalties on patents that are already licensed to that licensee.
We have not yet announced the rates because we want to set aside a period of time to further engage with market participants directly in one-on-one discussions, where issues can be clarified and questions can be answered to ensure clear understanding of the VDP license terms and rates. As we mentioned in our press release, the solution that we offer contains several innovative features, and we want to make sure that we have an opportunity to explain the benefits of these features to each market participant who is interested.
Those Licensors or Licensees who join the VDP Pool on or before June 30, 2025, will qualify as Founding Licensors and/or Founding Licensees. The Founding Licensors will enjoy a point bonus, i.e., they will receive a premium in the allocation of royalty revenue. The Founding Licensees will enjoy a royalty discount, and, importantly, they will also receive a waiver of past royalties for all usage prior to 2025. After June 30, 2025, that waiver will not be offered. All are very significant incentives, so we hope those who are interested will contact us as soon as possible so that we can provide more detailed information.

The material on this webpage is a summary of certain terms for information purposes only and does not create any contract or agreement. The actual terms are those contained in the Advance Video Distribution License Agreement. This summary is subject to change at any time at the discretion of Access Advance LLC.