H.265 Patent Pools Sidestep Comment on Cisco Allegations That H.265 Licensing Process Has Soured

HEVC Advance and MPEG LA both sidestepped reacting to Cisco’s recent allegations that the formation of those two competing patent pools for one-stop-shop H.265 licensing means “the patent licensing situation for H.265 has recently taken a turn for the worse” (see 1508140051). It was partially on that basis that Cisco said it was helping to lead the charge for a “high quality, next-generation codec that can be used everywhere” and will be royalty-free. Though HEVC Advance CEO Pete Moller didn’t directly take Cisco on for its comments that the H.265 license process has soured, he released a statement in which he said H.265, “just like every codec before it, is working through the IP process.” H.265, as an “industry standard codec, brings together the best technology from a vast number of companies that have committed to license their patents, rather than a proprietary codec for which licensing commitments may or may not be available,” Moller emailed us Tuesday. “The establishment of HEVC Advance furthers the IP process by providing an alternative pool option for many patent owners. We believe the existing patent pools provide a basis to solve the IP process and we encourage patent owners to make their patents available through one of the two existing pools and patent users to support H.265 by becoming licensees and bringing all the benefits of H.265 to the marketplace.” An MPEG LA spokesman declined to comment on Cisco's remarks.