Federal Court Dismisses Roku Lawsuit Against Access Advance, Declines to Set Global Patent Pool Pricing

Access Advance LLC today announced that the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Roku Inc. seeking to compel the Court to set a global fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) royalty rate for the HEVC Advance Patent Pool. Judge Richard G. Stearns determined that his Court "lacks jurisdiction to determine" a global FRAND royalty rate, noting that the "US patents constitute only a fraction of a larger portfolio." The Court further concluded that its "opinion on the appropriate royalty rate would merely be advisory", which is prohibited under US law.