Evaluating Patent Essentiality to VVC Standard

Value Delivered

The analysis revealed the true essentiality of a declared patent in the VVC (H.266) standard. By confirming that certain technologies discussed in the patent were excluded from the final VVC specifications, the client gained clarity on avoiding the costly licensing of non-essential patents.

Problems Solved

The client wanted to obtain licenses for patents declared essential to the VVC standard. The key question was whether these patents were truly worth licensing or not, hence prompting a deeper validation process to assess the alignment of patents with the VVC specifications.

Solution Offered

The patent claims were analyzed, starting by mapping them against the latest version of the VVC standard. Despite an exhaustive review of the 2023 VVC specifications, several key claim elements were not directly reflected in the standard, raising concerns about the patent’s essentiality.

To deepen the assessment, we extended the investigation by reviewing the Joint Video Exploration Team (JVET) meeting documents. These documents revealed that the concept of “virtual merge candidates” discussed in the patent had been proposed but later excluded from the VVC standard. In JVET Meeting M0272 (October 2018), the idea of virtual merge candidates was initially explored but eventually discarded in later iterations of the VVC specifications.

This investigation provided evidence that the technology claimed in the patent, while once considered, was ultimately not essential for VVC compliance. This thorough approach allowed the client to avoid investing in licensing a non-essential patent, potentially saving millions in licensing costs.

Before licensing or acquiring patents, ensure their essentiality with a thorough analysis.

Get the full case study to discover how GreyB evaluated patent essentiality to VVC standard.