OPPO Strengthens Video Codec Strategy by Joining VVC Advance Patent Pool and Renewing HEVC Advance License
Access Advance LLC and Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications (OPPO) have jointly announced a significant expansion of their long-standing collaboration, with OPPO officially joining the VVC Advance Patent Pool as a Licensee and renewing its HEVC Advance License. This move marks an important milestone in OPPO’s global intellectual property and technology strategy, reinforcing its commitment to supporting advanced video standards and balanced licensing frameworks across the digital media ecosystem.
As one of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers, OPPO operates in more than 70 countries and regions, delivering innovative mobile devices and digital experiences to millions of users worldwide. The company has been an active participant in Access Advance’s HEVC patent pool since 2020, and more recently expanded its role by joining the Advance Video Distribution Patent (VDP) Pool as a Licensor. With the addition of the VVC Advance Patent Pool, OPPO now participates across all three of Access Advance’s video codec licensing programs, reflecting a broad and deepening partnership between the two organizations.
A Strategic Step in OPPO’s Global Technology Roadmap
The decision to join the VVC Advance Patent Pool aligns closely with OPPO’s broader strategy of investing in next-generation technologies that enhance user experiences while supporting a sustainable and collaborative innovation environment. Video remains one of the most critical components of modern digital communication, powering everything from streaming entertainment and gaming to video conferencing, social media, and immersive applications.
As video resolutions increase and consumer expectations continue to rise, efficient compression technologies have become essential. By licensing patents essential to the VVC/H.266 standard, OPPO ensures it can confidently integrate cutting-edge video capabilities into its products while maintaining compliance with global intellectual property requirements.
This strategic alignment not only benefits OPPO’s product ecosystem but also contributes to the wider adoption of advanced video standards across the industry.
Understanding the Importance of the VVC Advance Patent Pool
The VVC Advance Patent Pool provides licenses to patents that are essential to the Versatile Video Coding (VVC/H.266) standard. VVC represents a major leap forward in video compression efficiency, delivering substantial performance improvements compared to its predecessor, HEVC (H.265).
Key advantages of the VVC standard include:
- Significantly improved compression efficiency, enabling higher video quality at lower bitrates
- Support for 4K, 8K, and HDR content, meeting the demands of modern displays
- Faster downloads and reduced latency, improving streaming and real-time applications
- Enhanced performance for emerging use cases such as immersive media and advanced broadcasting
The VVC Advance Patent Pool currently includes more than 4,500 essential patents worldwide, contributed by leading technology innovators. By consolidating these patents into a single licensing framework, Access Advance simplifies the process for implementers, reducing complexity and accelerating adoption of the VVC standard.
Supporting a Balanced and Sustainable IP Ecosystem
OPPO’s participation in the VVC Advance Patent Pool reflects its belief in balanced patent licensing models that serve the interests of both patent holders and technology implementers. In today’s interconnected technology landscape, companies often play dual roles—developing proprietary innovations while also implementing standardized technologies in commercial products.
Vincent Lin, Head of Patent Licensing at OPPO, emphasized the importance of this balance:
OPPO’s decision to join the VVC Advance Patent Pool reflects our continued commitment to supporting a balanced patent pool that benefits the entire video codec ecosystem. As both a technology innovator and implementer, we value collaborative licensing frameworks that support a long-term and healthy IP environment for video technologies and provide clear and efficient pathways for adoption.
This approach helps ensure that innovation continues to flourish while providing predictability and transparency for companies integrating advanced video standards into their products.
Renewing the HEVC Advance License: Continuity and Confidence
In addition to joining the VVC Advance Patent Pool, OPPO has renewed its HEVC Advance License, reaffirming its ongoing support for the widely adopted HEVC (H.265) standard. HEVC remains a critical technology across a wide range of applications, including streaming platforms, broadcast services, and mobile devices.
By renewing its HEVC license, OPPO ensures continued compliance and operational continuity across its existing product lines, while also preparing for a smooth transition to next-generation codecs such as VVC. This dual engagement reflects a pragmatic and forward-looking strategy—one that recognizes the importance of supporting both current and emerging standards.
Access Advance Welcomes OPPO’s Expanded Participation
Access Advance, which manages licensing programs for advanced video codecs, welcomed OPPO’s decision as a strong endorsement of its comprehensive and balanced approach to patent pooling.
Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance, highlighted the significance of OPPO’s expanded role:
We are pleased to welcome OPPO to the VVC Advance Patent Pool. OPPO’s participation in our HEVC and VDP programs as a Licensor, and in our HEVC and VVC programs as a Licensee, demonstrates the value our pools provide to companies that are both driving innovation and implementing critical video technologies. This comprehensive engagement underscores the industry’s recognition that our balanced approach serves the interests of patent owners and implementers alike.
This multi-faceted participation underscores the flexibility of Access Advance’s licensing frameworks, which are designed to accommodate the complex roles modern technology companies play in the ecosystem.
The Role of the Advance Video Distribution Patent (VDP) Pool
OPPO’s earlier decision to join the Advance Video Distribution Patent (VDP) Pool as a Licensor further illustrates its commitment to contributing intellectual property back into the ecosystem. The VDP Pool addresses licensing needs related to video distribution, complementing codec-focused pools such as HEVC Advance and VVC Advance.
By participating as both a licensor and licensee across Access Advance’s programs, OPPO exemplifies a collaborative model that encourages shared innovation, fair compensation for patent holders, and efficient access to essential technologies for implementers.
Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement: Streamlining Licensing Efficiency
As a licensee of both the HEVC Advance and VVC Advance Patent Pools, OPPO becomes eligible to benefit from Access Advance’s Multi-Codec Bridging Agreement (MCBA). The MCBA is designed to provide a more efficient and streamlined licensing framework for products that implement multiple video codecs.
In an industry where devices increasingly support several codecs simultaneously, such agreements play a crucial role in reducing administrative complexity and licensing overhead. For manufacturers like OPPO, this means:
- Greater clarity across licensing obligations
- Simplified compliance for multi-codec implementations
- Improved efficiency in bringing advanced video-enabled products to market
The MCBA represents another step toward a more coherent and scalable approach to video codec licensing.
Advancing the Future of Video Technology
The expanded partnership between OPPO and Access Advance comes at a time when demand for high-quality video experiences continues to surge. From ultra-high-definition streaming and mobile gaming to virtual collaboration and immersive media, video technology is central to how people connect, work, and entertain themselves.
By supporting advanced standards such as VVC and maintaining strong engagement with HEVC, OPPO is positioning itself to deliver next-generation video experiences while contributing to a stable and predictable IP environment. This balance is essential for driving innovation without creating unnecessary barriers to adoption.
A Model for Industry Collaboration
OPPO’s participation across all three of Access Advance’s licensing programs highlights a broader industry trend toward collaborative, transparent, and balanced licensing models. As technology ecosystems grow more complex, such frameworks become increasingly important in aligning the interests of innovators, implementers, and end users.
Through these agreements, OPPO and Access Advance demonstrate how thoughtful IP strategies can support both commercial success and industry-wide progress.
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