SAN FRANCISCO, January 17, 2018— Via Licensing, the leading provider of innovative intellectual property solutions, rounded out one of the most successful years in the company’s history in 2017.

Fueling Via’s growth is the expansion of its long-term evolution (LTE) patent pool. In addition to adding dozens of new licensees, Via pulled in several new high-profile licensors to the LTE pool, including Lenovo, Mediatek, Verizon, Dolby, and Conversant.  These deals affirmed that the industry is looking for a fresh approach, eliminating the need for litigation and promoting a fair exchange of IP rights.

“We are offering real solutions to the friction and litigiousness in IP licensing, and that’s what the industry needs and wants,” said Via president Joe Siino. “Via works with leading innovators around the world to pave the way for new technologies.”

Bringing even more value to the ecosystem, Via formed its defensive patent bank, a trusted entity providing a defensive aggregation solution to its members. Via also updated its LTE royalty rate structure to be more welcoming to innovative small and medium-sized companies, with all potential licensees eligible to take advantage of these rates in the relevant volume tiers.

It was also a significant year for the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) patent pool.  The company expanded its program with the addition of Extended High Efficiency AAC (xHE-AAC) to the AAC program.  The expanded patent pool license will be available at no additional cost to licensees. Via also announced a new royalty rate option for promoting and encouraging the use of AAC technologies in emerging markets.

In 2017, Via broadened its reach and expanded the team by opening a new office in London and expanding its European licensing group with the addition of veteran IP executive Sami Saru. Early in the year, former Apple IP lawyer Taraneh Maghamé joined Via as its new Senior Director, Wireless Programs and Corporate Development. Maghamé is leading the expansion of Via’s Wireless Programs.

Via executives were also recognized for their contributions to the market. Leading IP business journal IAM named Siino to its prestigious Global 40 Market Makers list in November. Earlier in the year, IAM also named Siino to its 2017 edition of IAM Strategy 300 – “The World’s Leading IP Strategists.” Other Via leaders were named to the list including Director of Patents and Corporate Development, Tom Chia, and Senior Director of Licensing and Strategy Nicholas Dudziak.

Via continues its momentum and success into 2018 as it looks to accelerate its programs and continues to provide industry-needed solutions around today’s important technologies.