http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000040-264.html
"MPEG LA licenses more than 1,000 H.264-related patents on behalf of 26 companies that hold the patents. The group's existing policy, which runs through the end of 2010, has been not to charge royalties to Internet sites that streamed video using the technology--
as long as the video was free for viewers."
So if you run a pay site, VOD etc... and want to use H.264, here is your cost... directly from the horses mouth...
http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/...rmsSummary.pdf
For (b) (1) where an end user pays directly for video services on a title-by-title basis (e.g.,
where viewer determines titles to be viewed or number of viewable titles are otherwise
limited), royalties for video greater than 12 minutes (there is no royalty for a title 12
minutes or less) are (beginning January 1, 2006) the lower of 2% of the price paid to the
Licensee (on first arms length sale of the video) or $0.02 per title (categories of licensees
include legal entities that are (i) replicators of physical media, and (ii) service/content
providers (e.g., cable, satellite, video DSL, internet and mobile) of VOD, PPV and
electronic downloads to end users).10 Where an end user pays directly for video services
on a subscription-basis (not ordered or limited title-by-title), the applicable royalties per
legal entity payable by the service or content provider are (beginning January 1, 2006)
100,000 or fewer subscribers during the year = no royalty; greater than 100,000 to
250,000 subscribers during the year = $25,000; greater than 250,000 to 500,000
subscribers during the year = $50,000; greater than 500,000 to 1,000,000 subscribers
during the year = $75,000; greater than 1,000,000 subscribers during the year =
$100,000.11
So, Make sure you keep it under 100k subscribers...
