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http://web.archive.org/web/19981202072738/http://www.mpeg.org/MPEG/mp3-licensing-faq.html

The following letter from Mr. Henri Linde (Thomson) explains the patent and licensing situation for MP3 (aka Layer-3) as of April 1998.

Business Answers MPEG Layer-3 - Version 04.98-3 ...thank you for your interest in our MPEG Layer-3 audio compression technology.

In this document you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about MPEG Layer-3, the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, THOMSON multimedia and the licensing of MPEG Layer-3 technology.

The Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.

The Fraunhofer Gesellschaft is the leading organization of applied research in Germany. It operates 47 research centers in Germany with about 9,000 employees, about half of them scientists and engineers. The Fraunhofer Gesellschaft expands to a worldwide Organization, especially in USA and Asia. Home of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft is Munich.

One of the goals of the Fraunhofer policy is a rapid transfer of innovations into products. The total research expenditure is about US $ 700 million.

The Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen (Fraunhofer IIS), based in Erlangen, is one of the 47 research centers. In the field of high quality low bitrate audio coding, Fraunhofer IIS is the leading international research lab. Fraunhofer IIS has been the main developer of the most advanced audio coding schemes, like MPEG Layer-3 and MPEG-2 AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). Fraunhofer IIS plays a major role in the ongoing work for the MPEG-4 Audio standardization process and contributes to many other standards bodies as well, like ITU-R TG10/4, ITU-R WP10C, AES, MPEG-IPR, and others.

WWW: http://www.iis.fhg.de/audio/

THOMSON multimedia.

The world's fourth-largest consumer electronics group, THOMSON multimedia develops, manufactures and markets: televisions, VCRs, camcorders, audio and communication appliances, satellite decoders, DVD players, as well as color TV tubes and professional television equipment (studio equipment, TV cameras, mixers, etc.).

With its pan-European brands - THOMSON, TELEFUNKEN and SABA - and its American brands - RCA, GE and ProScan - today the group is the leader in the United States, No. 2 in Europe and is strongly increasing its market presence in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

WWW: http://www.thomson-multimedia.com/ http://www.rca-electronics.com/ or
http://www.nipper.com/

OPTICOM

OPTICOM is a "spin-off" firm from Fraunhofer IIS. OPTICOM was founded in 1995 with the intention to assist you in finding the technical solution best suited for you through consulting and specialized tools.

WWW: http://www.opticom.de/

I) GENERAL

Q. I am interested in source coding technology. What can you do for me?

A. Licensing source code, developing real-time DSP code as well as DSP-based hardware, and developing codec libraries for desktop computers is part of the Fraunhofer IIS activities. The focus is on (mobile) high-quality low bitrate audiovisual communications (e.g. digital broadcasting systems or internet services).

Q. Regarding MPEG Layer-3, do any patent rights exist?

A. As for practically any important technology (and particularly for publicly established standards), you should know that patent rights for MPEG Layer-3 exist. Although others may also hold patents related to the MPEG Layer-3 technology, THOMSON multimedia and Fraunhofer IIS have pooled their interests and grant licenses under their combined patent portfolio.

Q. Who grants licenses under this combined portfolio to use MPEG Layer-3?

A. We have split the licensing activities in three parts:

i) THOMSON multimedia ha

I had heard, and now I've confirmed, that the benchmark song for the MP3 standard was Tom's Diner. (according to this ).

In the article I heard, Branderburg decided he found a good match when he couldn't tell the difference between the encoding and the original song. Doesn't that imply that MP3 works best for that type, or sound, of music?

A patent on this type of thing is ludicrous, and I hope there are plenty of people around to challenge it. Apathy is the enemy of freedom.

They have not patented the idea of MP3 streaming. They do hold a bunch of patents for the algorithms used in MP3 encoders and decoders, however, and, thus, can dictate the license conditions at which they are gonna let you use it.

A little bit of history:
MP3 (Audio MPEG Layer 3) was originally developed back in the early 90s (I believe it was 1992, but I'm not sure) by the Fraunhoeffer Institute in Germany, which they patented. At first, I believe they allowed everyone to write encoders/decoders based on the codec for free, but later decided to charge 50 cents per each unit sold (if you don't sell your end product, you don't pay anything)with a minimum fee of $15000 per year.
At some point, Fraunhoeffer let Thomson Multimedia handle the licensing of mp3 and that's where we are at today.

I'm not sure about DSL, but this is the same Thomson that owns RCA, GE, and the U.S. rights to the MP3 patents. Boycott Thomson's new "Stupid Card" project and support the Ogg codec projects instead.

It's THOMSON Multimedia, not Thompson. Thomson is a company making TV sets (and, more importantly as I've heard, TV screens for other manufacturers) and similar equipments.

I browsed this book last month and found it informative and quite well-written.

The author explains the thorny issues of patents pertaining to MP3. Two corporations have patents on MP3 technologies:

• the Fraunhofer institute, a German state-run research venture;
• Thomson Multimedia, a French electronics company.

However, as it has been pointed out, the law section is US-centric. It would be interesting to know where in the world the said patents apply. Theoretically, Europe does not allow patents on algorithms and mathematical formulas, but this provision can be circumvented by patenting an overall technique using an algorithm.