HEVC Advance Patent Pool Sues Roku

Access Advance, the patent pool behind the HEVC video compression standard, is suing Roku, which it says continues to use its technology in streaming products without paying tribute.

"Despite long-term efforts by Advance to resolve patent infringements in good faith, Roku remains unwilling to voluntarily legalize its sales of HEVC capable products," the patent pool representing 43 licensors and 23,000 patents covering around 80% of all HEVC tech patents, said in a statement .

"In response, Advance licensors have chosen to begin enforcement actions to facilitate a level playing field for the pool’s existing licensees. As part of their infringement suits, the pool licensors are seeking payment of past royalties from Roku and an injunction against continuing infringement," the group added.

Also known as H.265 or MPEG-H Part 2, HEVC is a crucial compression standard for 4K streaming, significantly reducing the required bitrate.

The Roku suit follows similar legal action earlier this year against HP Inc. and ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

The pool said it's attracted over 320 licensees, including Dell, Google, LG, Microsoft, OPPO, Huawei, Panasonic, Sony, and Lenovo.