Hi

I have a question about the mp3 licence. Do I need a licence to decode an mp3 file using lame.exe?

Ax

I think you only need a license for encoding MP3s when you include it in your software. You can always go around that by not including the actual encoder within the software, but merely provide links for the end-user to obtain it themselves.

correction: you technically do need a license, but patent holders didn't enforce it on open source decoders, so using lame (or any other open source decoder) would leave you in the clear. Individuals are also allowed to use open source encoders without a license.

http://www.newsforge.com/business/02/08/29...05.shtml?tid=17

So as long as my software is free i can include exe's such as lame, oggenc, mppenc etc etc?

That article seems a bit old - we were contacted in 2004 because of our free distribution of Lame, we now have to pay a royalty for each client (plus a sizable damage settlement for all previous free giveaways).

It is correct that mp3 Licensing is not going after free decoders, this is not true though for m4a / mp4 <sigh> we are in discussions with the mp4 licensors, they will not even allow free mp4 decoders - there is a license per channel to be paid.

Any idea if you have to pay licensing fees as MP4 plugin developer? MaresWEB has two open source AAC decoding plugins for BASS - one is based on Helix and one on FAAD2.