12 commercial use of mp3 content – Sonnox Fraunhofer Codec Toolbox User Manual
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12 Commercial use of mp3 content
It is important to distinguish between the use of codecs and the use of content produced by the
codecs; and therefore it is important to note that any mp3 royalty fees are independent of which
encoder is used to produce the mp3 file content. If royalty fees are due for a particular project or
enterprise, they will be due irrespective of whether the Pro- Codec is used or some alternative
encoder is used. There is no circumstance where using the Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec will
increase licence fees or require additional fees of any sort.
Both the mp3 and AAC compression routines are based on technology that is patented. At present
no royalties are required for AAC codec usage, and private or non-commercial use of mp3 content
does not require royalty fees. Under some circumstances the commercial (i.e. revenue-generating)
use of mp3 content will require a separate licence irrespective of how that content is generated. To
summarise:
• There are no licence fees for private or non-commercial use of mp3 content.
• Enterprises with a turnover of less than $100,000 per year are exempt from mp3 royalty
payments.
• There are currently no royalties collected for AAC commercial content distribution.
If you are in doubt about whether fees are applicable for your project, please contact
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