Context: Chinese consumer electronics maker Honor, an entity spun off from Huawei five years ago, has until now not been very active in the licensing space. Aside from a 5G patent cross-license agreement it struck with Nokia a couple of years ago (January 4, 2024 ip fray article), and more recent brand and hardware IP licensing deals it inked with HTech Active and Qualcomm, respectively, Honor has not announced too many license agreements.
What’s new: Via Licensing Alliance (Via) today announced that Honor is taking a license in Via’s Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) patent pool. This addition brings the penetration of Via’s AAC pool into the mobile market to over 80%.
Direct impact and wider ramifications: Honor’s addition to the AAC pool is the latest in a series of new Chinese licensees to Via’s programs. It comes after Via recently announced that Chinese smart automotive companies Huizhou Longcheer Automotive Electronics (Longcheer) and Huizhou Desay SV Automotive (Desay SV) joined its Qi Wireless Power patent pool as licensees (February 23, 2026 ip fray article). And, during its Business Summit in Shanghai last year, Via announced that Huawei would be joining its HEVC/VVC patent pool as both a VVC licensor and licensee (March 20, 2025 ip fray article). The latter pools are now being administered by Access Advance, following the latter’s acquisition of those programs at the end of last year (December 15, 2025 ip fray article).
In a statement today, Via’s President Kevin Mack (who replaced former President Heath Hoglund in January: January 7, 2026 ip fray article), stated:
“The addition of Honor reinforces the scale and continued relevance of our AAC program. AAC remains a foundational audio standard globally, and our consolidated licensing model ensures innovators and implementers have efficient, reliable access to essential technology.”