MP3 patents expire

[Imperf3kt]

I think this goes here, since it has to do with Ren'Py games in general... I think

Can someone make sense of this:
https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/ff/amm ... s/mp3.html

Apparently MP3 patent / licensing has expired and will not be renewed. What does this mean for us, can we use MP3 now without worrying about royalties, or does the format remain non-free in some way?

[lunaterra]

This blog post might provide some more insight.

In short, you can use the MP3 format without having to pay royalties. However, as that blog post mentions, there are some other MP3-related patents which haven't expired yet, though I don't think that would affect anyone just trying to use MP3 files in Ren'py.

And of course, you still need to have the rights to the contents of the MP3 files you're making/using.

[Karl_C]

Apparently MP3 patent / licensing has expired and will not be renewed.

Only the core mp3 patents are expired:

'However, the end of the mp3 licensing program does not automatically mean that all mp3 technology is available license-free now. Apart from the core mp3 patents included in the licensing program, there might still be some implementation–specific patents (or patents for other functional enhancements) that have not expired. Thus, manufacturers will have to check the situation regarding their intended products first before including mp3.'

Source: Fraunhofer Institute

And: Fraunhofer itself states, that 'there are more efficient audio codecs with advanced features available today".