BlackBerry making its HEVC patents available through Velos Media

Velos Media announced that BlackBerry has joined the platform and will make its entire portfolio of HEVC patents available for license through the Velos Media marketplace.

With the addition of BlackBerry, Velos Media now offers HEVC patents from six companies. Ericsson, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Sharp and Sony all previously signed on.

“We are happy to have BlackBerry join the Velos Media licensing platform and further enhance access to important HEVC innovations that enable consumers to enjoy richer video experiences,” said Fred Telecky, president of Velos Media, in a statement. “Velos Media’s streamlined approach allows product manufacturers to have a reasonable and efficient path to secure a license, and our patent holders to receive a fair return on their R&D investments.”

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HEVC, or H.265, is built to reduce the bandwidth needed to download video files while maintaining the quality of the images. Velos says it is offering simplified access to patents at "reasonable rates and with one license" for companies using the HEVC codec.

Velos Media is an independent company but was founded by the Marconi Group.

“We’re streamlining the patent licensing process by offering a single license to end user product companies that manufacture or sell HEVC-enabled devices, thereby creating a solution for them and patent holders alike,” said Kasim Alfalahi, co-founder of the Marconi Group, in a statement. “This solution is available to all who wish to participate, and we welcome interest from other innovators who have contributed to the HEVC standard and have patents representing those contributions.”

Velos Media is up against other HEVC patent pools including MPEG LA (which includes Apple, Canon, JVC Kenwood and Samsung) and HEVC Advance (which includes Dolby Labs, Mitsubishi, Warner Bros. and Samsung).