An excellent informative response, thanks for providing it. Tim Lesher wrote: > 1. The algorithms used in encoding and decoding mp3-compressed audio > are covered by patents owned by Fraunhofer, and licensed by > Thomson (http://www.mp3licensing.com/help/developer.html#1). For a > decoder like Xmms, the cost is a flat, one-time fee of $50,000 > (http://www.mp3licensing.com/royalty/index.html). For example, > Nullsoft paid this fee to be able to distribute WinAmp. Just in case there are any readers out there that want to know about Free Software MP3 encoders, it's also worth noting that if you are in a country which honors so-called "software patents" (patents on algorithms used in computer software) you can't encode MP3s legally with Free Software. The MP3Licensing.com page mentions per-unit license fees for encoders. Per-unit licensing is incompatible with Free Software distribution because you can't tell how many copies you'd have to pay the license fee for. Ogg Vorbis sounds so good (some people say it sounds better than an MP3 file of comparable size), Ogg Vorbis is patent-free, and Ogg Vorbis software is readily available on Fedora Core. I'd say stick with Ogg Vorbis and help make it more popular.
