[python-win32] Play MP3s from Windows, Just Works

[Tim Roberts]

Vernon Cole wrote:
> As always, remember that mp3 is proprietary, and the owner has shown 
> willingness to be nasty about licensing it. Therefore, anything that 
> is "easy to install" is possibly illegal and/or will open you to a 
> lawsuit. If you are doing new work, better to use ogg.

That statement is not technically correct.  MP3 is not proprietary, and 
the format is not "owned" by any one organization or individual.  It is 
an ISO standard.  Several institutions do claim to own patents that 
cover MP3, just as with all of the MPEG standards.

Many of the patent holders have already said they will not assert their 
patent rights on free and/or open source decoders and encoders.

However, you are correct to point out that the legal situation is murky.

-- 
Tim Roberts, timr at probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.