Context: Access Advance operates several pools containing standard-essential patents (SEPs) relevant to major video codecs. It announced a royalty rate increase last year, offering an early-bird 25% rate reduction until this week (January 27, 2026 ip fray article).
What’s new and direct impact: Meta Platforms, the U.S. company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has become a licensee to Access Advance’s HEVC Advance, VVC Advance, and Video Distribution Patent (VDP) pools.
Wider ramifications: In recent months, Meta has faced multiple infringement claims from Access Advance licensors asserting video-related SEPs. South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) sued Meta in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Dusseldorf Local Division and Germany’s Munich I Regional Court, where Philips also filed a complaint against the U.S. company (January 26, 2026 ip fray article). Later, Huawei filed suit in the UPC Mannheim Local Division, the UPC Munich Local Division, and in Brazil’s 6th Business Court of the Rio de Janeiro State Court, accusing Meta of infringing various SEPs (March 12, 2026 ip fray article). By taking the pool licenses, Meta will presumably see these cases terminated.
“Meta reaches billions of users every day through some of the most watched video platforms in the world”, Peter Moller, Access Adavcne CEO, said in a statement.
Its participation “reflects the balanced licensing solution the VDP Pool offers the industry, and is a testament to Meta’s leadership among U.S. companies in bringing the many benefits of modern video codecs, such as AV1, to so many consumers”, he added.
For Access Advance, the agreement with Meta follows hot on the heels of two other high-profile deals: Alibaba signing on as a VDP licensee, and Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology coming on board as a VDP licensor while returning as an HEVC Advance licensee (July 2, 2026 ip fray article).