BOSTON -- Access Advance LLC announced that Alibaba Group and ZTE Corporation have joined the Video Distribution Patent (“VDP”) Pool as Licensors and Alibaba Group’s subsidiary Youku, one of China‘s leading video streaming platforms, has joined as a Licensee. The participation of these industry leaders strengthens the VDP Pool’s comprehensive licensing solution by adding extensive patent portfolios, including significant contributions to both the HEVC/H.265 and the VVC/H.266 standard, while expanding coverage to Youku's massive user base.

“We‘re delighted to welcome Alibaba, ZTE and Youku to the VDP Pool,” said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. “The addition of Alibaba and ZTE as Licensors brings critical intellectual property assets to the VDP Pool, while Youku’s participation as a Licensee demonstrates the value of the pool‘s flexibility, predictable cost model, and simplified administration for major streaming platforms. They join other technology leaders including ByteDance, Kuaishou, NTT Docomo, and Tencent in demonstrating the VDP Pool’s value for the global streaming ecosystem.”

These additions to the VDP Pool further support the pool‘s balanced approach, where both patent owners and implementers benefit from simplified licensing. Additionally, they underscore how the VDP Pool enables innovation by serving the evolving needs of today’s interconnected video distribution landscape and providing maximum flexibility for codec deployment across diverse business models.