Velos Media, LLC has filed suit against ByteDance (TikTok) (1:25-cv-00967), asserting five patents from families originally developed at BlackBerry and one patent from a family originally developed at Sharp. In the Western District of Texas complaint, the plaintiff, a former Avanci licensor, targets the incorporation of certain encoders and decoders that support the H.265 standard within the TikTok platform. Velos Media pleads that it attempted to "open licensing negotiations with TikTok by first negotiating in good faith to fair terms in a mutual non-disclosure agreement", but that TikTok's "failure to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement on terms for a license to Velos' patents (including Velos' patented H.265 technologies) has forced Velos to institute this lawsuit".
The asserted patents (8,964,849; 9,008,184; 11,627,338; 12,088,843; 12,186,395; 12,341,962) are broadly directed to video coding. Velos Media received the '843 patent family from Sharp; the others, from BlackBerry. Velos Media was formed in Delaware in June 2016 and has collected patents from others as well, including Panasonic, Qualcomm, and Sony. It operated as a "joint licensing program" under the Avanci patent pool into 2022, when it reportedly reorganized into a more independent concern after returning batches of its patents to the original sources. In connection with the new case, Velos Media has disclosed that Velos Media Management, LLC (also formed in Delaware on June 21, 2016) remains its parent company, but its website indicates that it is now "A TechStream Company".
TechStream, LLC was formed in Delaware in December 2024 by former GE Ventures executive Patrick J. ("Pat") Patnode after Dolby Labs acquired GE Licensing (for $429M) last year. The TechStream website indicates that Patnode teamed up with "a billionaire investor" to form the patent advisory and monetization firm, which "will focus on a flexible approach toward partnering with universities, research organizations, and technology innovators to lead them through the commercialization process of their IP". That billionaire is apparently Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor; his "personal investment vehicle", Crexa. On June 6, 2025, TechStream announced the acquisition of Fraunhofer Gesellshaft's versatile video codec (VVC) assets; notably, the press release indicates that the acquired "VVC assets will be licensed through Avanci Video's platform for the streaming market".
On social media, Patnode dates the start of his position as CEO of TechStream in March 2025. Greg Weiss indicates that he became "Senior Vice President, Licensing" with Velos Media in December 2020 after holding the position of "Vice President, Strategy and Business Development" with Marconi, the company running the Avanci patent pool, since September 2016.
In addition to the six claims for patent infringement in the new complaint, Velos Media seeks a declaratory judgment that it "has negotiated in good faith toward a license with TikTok and complied with its RAND commitments". There, it pleads that it offered to enter into a nondisclosure agreement with TikTok but was refused. It also seeks a declaratory judgment that "TikTok has not complied with its obligation to act in good faith during its negotiations with Velos, in regard to RAND terms for a license to the parties' essential patent claims, and as a consequence, that TikTok has repudiated and forfeited its ability to claim rights as a third-party beneficiary of Velos' RAND commitment to ITU [the standard-setting body] to the extent applicable to the essential claims of Velos' patents".
McKool Smith, P.C. filed the complaint for Velos Media. The suit has been assigned to District Judge David A. Ezra. 6/24, Western District of Texas.
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