Via Licensing Alliance Formally Launches First Patent Pool in the Datacenter Space with Signed Licensors in its DRAM Memory Program

Founding Licensors Sign Pool Commercial Agreement, Welcome Implementers to Take a License

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – September 17, 2026 – Via Licensing Alliance (Via) today announced the formal launch of its Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) program, the first patent pool ever formed to facilitate collaborative licensing for the datacenter space. The founding licensor companies – significant IP holders in the space – signed the pool’s commercial agreement, marking the official launch of the pool. Via also announced another patent pool today that will support the next generation of data center technologies, building on the series of pool programs it is currently developing in this space.

The new DRAM program offers a highly efficient means of licensing critical technology standards for data center operators, including hyperscalers, neocloud operators, colocation providers, corporate data centers, other managed service providers, and companies with significant general data center needs for their businesses.

Founding licensors of the program have already begun to hear from companies who wish to take a pool license for the ability to access the data center infrastructure solutions they require for their commercial offerings. Via has also begun to actively engage in licensee outreach with companies who may be interested in taking a license.

“Via has been a true leader and first-mover in the patent licensing space for decades,” said Kevin Mack, President of Via. “I’m pleased that we once again have brought the first collaborative licensing solution to a major new market, this time in the datacenter space. With the explosion in demand for memory technologies, the market potential of this new pool is undeniable.”

"For decades, SEP licensing has been conducted primarily at the device level,” Mack continued. “Via is a pioneer not only in licensing for the data center, one of the fastest-growing segments of the technology industry, but also in developing a forward-looking licensing strategy that better pairs royalties with the value contributed by the use of the technology.”

The patent license agreement for Via’s DRAM pool provides data center operators with a convenient mechanism for licensing servers that employ DRAM technology. License fees range from $0.005 to $0.020 USD per hour per server processing unit, depending on the memory type utilized. Via is encouraging any company with standard essential patents in the DRAM space to reach out and explore contributing their patents to the pool, and the company anticipates that the pool’s list of participating licensors will continue to grow in the months ahead.

DRAM currently represents the greatest memory bottleneck for data center infrastructure and is used for real-time computing and processing, one of the critical components forming the foundation of modern computer architecture. The new DRAM program focuses on licensing JEDEC standards that are fundamental to data center operations. More information is available about the pool here.

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Additional AI Licensing Patent Pool Announced by Via

Via is developing a series of patent pools to support the next generation of data center technologies. As part of this initiative, Via announced today another first-of-its-kind pool offering: Media for Cloud Processing. This innovative program is designed to cover server-side activities pertaining to media, including the ingestion and generation of images, audio, and video, as well as server-side encoding and decoding in the context of generative AI. The pool program is planned to encompass widely adopted media formats, including the video format AVC, and the audio formats AAC and Opus, providing a comprehensive licensing solution for the evolving needs of modern data centers.

Via also recently issued a formal public call for patents for its new NAND memory licensing program. Building on the foundation of Via’s established DRAM solution, this program reflects a natural extension of Via’s memory technology offerings, highlighting the growing importance of these technologies in supporting the next-generation infrastructure demands of modern data center environments.

About Via Licensing Alliance:

Via Licensing Alliance is the collaborative licensing leader, dedicated to accelerating global technology adoption, fostering participation, and generating return on innovation with balanced licensing solutions for innovators and manufacturers of all sizes around the globe. Via has operated dozens of licensing programs for a variety of technologies. Via is an independently managed company owned by industry-leading participants with over 25 years of intellectual property licensing leadership. For more information about Via, please visit https://www.via-la.com.