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Rubes_sw
Valued Contributor
Joined: 11 Jun 2001
Posts: 625
Location: Northern Ireland
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 Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2003 2:15 pm Post subject: MP3 Information - READ THIS ! |
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Found this guys !
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You may know it or not but MP3 is not a free format. It is patented by Thomson and Fraunhofer (it has always been) but recently they change the licensing policy. Usage of MP3 is no longer free in a low volume software.
On the other hand this is hardly surprising, Fraunhofer was always saying that mp3 is patented, it just people assumed that they will never charge royalties.
While the royalties per unit are between $0.75-$1.50 (which is hardly anything) Thomson added also a Minimal royalties per year which are quite above ten thousand. (Minimal royalties is a sum developer has to pay per year even if he sells just 1 unit). This is hardly bearable for smaller developers.
We fully understand Thomson and Franhoffer that they need to protect their intellectual investment so the only solution to cover minimal royalties for us is to actually higher the price of the final product.
After many hours of thinking we decided that we will charge only the users who needs MP3 support hoping that it will cover the minimal royalties and we will make all the effort to bring other free audio formats into MMB for example OGG.
Ogg Vobis is a great alternative to MP3 and in fact test shows that it is superior to the MP3. For more info about MP3 licensing controversy read Open Letter to Thomson written by CEO of OGG foundation.
When ordering MMB you will be able to choose:
MMB without MP3 support (Basic MMB price)
MMB with MP3 support (Basic MMB price + $15 for MP3 support)
Only MP3 support for existing users $15
I hope you understand this. We are not very happy to charge users additional money especially if this can't be used to further enhance the product, but there is no choice. Once people choose a patented format over a free one, soon or later somebody has to pay. |
Nathan |
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PGWARE
Web Host
Joined: 29 Dec 2001
Posts: 1566
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2003 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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| That's not entirely correct. Thomson and Fraunhofer has always charged for MP3 licensing, they didn't just start charging recently. They however have started to charge recently for hardware playback of MP3 decoding (mp3 walkman type devices). They specifically say on their site that the tiny small time developer will not need to pay a license, MMB on the other hand sells thousands of copies so they will most likely have to pay for MP3 licensing. |
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FreezingFire
Admin Team
Joined: 23 Jun 2002
Posts: 3508
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marty
Professional Member
Joined: 10 May 2001
Posts: 789
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2003 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | They specifically say on their site that the tiny small time developer will not need to pay a license..... |
PGWARE could you direct me to the link that mentions the above ?
Thanks .. |
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