The developers of MP3 enforce their patents on all encoders (meaning a royalty has to be paid) but decoders given away free don't need a royalty. Most free MP3 encoders use the LAME software application, which doesn't pay royalties because the developers don't provide a complied program, only the source code and the people that do the compiling are untraceable. In any case, the patents on MP3 expire in 2011, after which possibly software like dbPower might scrap their fees.
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