Access Advance announced on November 18, 2025, that Xiaomi has formally joined its HEVC (H.265) patent pool as a licensee. Simultaneously, Xiaomi joins the VVC (H.266) patent pool in a dual role as both a licensor and licensee—meaning Xiaomi contributes its own patent licenses to the VVC pool while also gaining rights to utilize patents within the pool.

With Xiaomi's addition, the HEVC patent pool now has 379 licensees; the VVC patent pool welcomes its 46th rights holder and 24th licensee. Previously, Huawei became a VVC patent pool licensee in October, while Sharp joined the HEVC patent pool as a rights holder in September this year.

Xiaomi's decision to join was primarily driven by Access Advance's Multi-Codec Bridge Agreement (MCBA) launched in 2021. This agreement enables manufacturers utilizing both HEVC and VVC technologies to obtain unified licensing for both at a lower royalty rate. In July this year, rights holders from both patent pools reached a consensus to align the MCBA royalty rate with that of the VVC patent pool, further enhancing the mechanism's appeal.

Dylan Zhou, Senior Vice President of Access Advance, stated that the company is actively engaging with Hisense and Transsion. He expressed hope that Xiaomi's participation will encourage more manufacturers to finalize their agreements promptly.