Dolby EVS patent lawsuit targets Nothing Technology in first Via pool dispute

This litigation marks a critical transition for the Via Licensing Alliance from pool formation to active market enforcement. By targeting a rising device maker like Nothing Technology, Dolby is signaling that the $0.60 per unit royalty rate for Enhanced Voice Services will be strictly defended in the Unified Patent Court. For the streaming and communications ecosystem, this adds legal pressure to hardware manufacturers utilizing VoLTE and TWS earbud technologies. The industry should monitor the Munich Local Division's ruling to see if it aligns with recent German Federal Court of Justice precedents that have favored patent holders in similar codec disputes.

The Via Licensing Alliance Voice Codec pool, which launched in December 2024, represents a consolidation of patent holders including Dolby, Huawei, ETRI, NTT, JVCKENWOOD, Fraunhofer, and others around the Enhanced Voice Services standard. Dolby's lawsuit against Nothing Technology marks the first enforcement action since the pool's formation, signaling that licensors are moving from pool assembly to active litigation. The pool covers EVS, which is mandated in 3GPP Release 13 for VoLTE and has been adopted across Android flagship devices and TWS earbuds. Nothing Technology, founded by Carl Pei in 2020, has rapidly grown its smartphone and audio accessory lineup, making it a high-visibility target for establishing enforcement precedent in the Unified Patent Court's Munich Local Division. The $0.60 per unit royalty rate set by Via for EVS implementation sits within a broader landscape of codec licensing disputes that have shaped the mobile and streaming device market. The Unified Patent Court has become a key venue for standard-essential patent disputes since its June 2023 launch, with patent holders increasingly favoring its pan-European injunction power over national courts. Dolby itself has a long history of codec licensing enforcement, having previously pursued actions related to HE-AAC and Dolby Digital in consumer electronics. The involvement of multiple patent holders in the Via pool, including Fraunhofer (which co-developed EVS with 3GPP contributors) and Huawei (a major EVS patent contributor), means the pool controls a substantial share of declared-essential patents for the codec. From a technical standpoint, EVS competes with the newer IVAS codec, which 3GPP standardized in Release 18 for 5G voice services. Device manufacturers evaluating codec compliance now face overlapping licensing obligations across EVS, IVAS, and legacy AMR-WB patent pools, creating procurement complexity for OEMs shipping VoLTE-capable hardware. The Nothing Phone (2a) and Nothing Ear product lines both implement EVS for voice calls, which is the specific technology at issue in the Dolby filing. If the UPC rules in Dolby's favor, it could establish precedent that accelerates licensing negotiations across the broader Android and TWS earbud ecosystem, where hundreds of manufacturers currently ship EVS-capable devices without explicit pool licenses. For related background, see StreamingMeme's prior coverage of Ad groups challenge Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act over First Amendment concerns.