Researchers at Boston University have developed an economic model to explain why video codec patent pools frequently remain fragmented. The study identifies that patent holders may strategically avoid joining pools to leverage their individual negotiating power against large implementers like Apple and Samsung.
This model provides a theoretical foundation for the persistent fragmentation seen in HEVC and VVC licensing, shiftng the blame from coordination friction to rational profit-maximizing behavior. For the streaming industry, this means that even as consolidation occurs—such as Access Advance’s 2025 acquisition of Via LA’s pools—complete coverage remains elusive because individual patent holders gain more by staying out. For strategists and engineers, this reinforces the reality that standard adoption risk is intrinsically tied to licensing timing. Watch for whether upcoming standards like AV2 or 6G incorporate pre-set 'comparable' benchmarks to force earlier pool participation and reduce the risk of adoption failure.
The video codec licensing landscape has undergone significant structural shifts since late 2025, specifically aimed at addressing the fragmentation highlighted by BU researchers. In December 2025, Access Advance acquired the HEVC and VVC patent pool businesses of its primary competitor, Via Licensing Alliance (Via LA), following a decisive legal victory by Samsung in the New York State Supreme Court. The court ruled that MPEG-LA’s '50% reduction penalty' for exiting pool members was an unenforceable contract penalty, effectively breaking the lock-in mechanism that previously held pools together. This acquisition led to the creation of the unified Video Codec Licensing Advance (VCL Advance) pool, providing a more centralized licensing point for H.265 and H.266 technologies.
Despite this consolidation, enforcement litigation remains high for streaming services. In early 2026, InterDigital secured multiple injunctions against Disney in the European Unified Patent Court, briefly blocking the use of advanced compression features in Germany for Disney+ and Hulu. Furthermore, the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) announced the launch of the AV2 next-generation codec for late 2025, even as Sisvel reported that its AV1 patent pool had already reached 50% market penetration by July 2025. This indicates that even supposedly 'royalty-free' codecs are not immune to the economic pressures and pool-building strategies modeled by the BU study.
Regulatory intervention has also ebbed and flowed; while the European Commission formally withdrew its Standard Essential Patent (SEP) regulation proposal in October 2025 due to a lack of consensus, several member states—including Germany and France—requested a return to the agenda in April 2026. This ongoing tension reflects the researchers' concerns over the split in surplus between those who invent technologies and those who implement them at scale.
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