Windows Media Licensing Fees and Royalties

Related Links • Windows Media Licensing Program • Sample Licensing Agreements

Device manufacturers and software developers can use the Windows Media Licensing Program to build high-quality digital media capabilities into a broad range of products and platforms. If you are not sure which technologies you need to license, see the Windows Media Licensing Program.

Use the following table to identify whether fees or royalties are associated with the technologies you want to license for Interim or Final Products, and how to acquire any necessary licenses.

Technologies	Agreements	Fees or royalties
Windows Media Components	Interim Products: Windows Media Components Interim Product Agreement	Source code fees might apply
	Final Products: Windows Media Components Final Product Agreement	Royalties might apply $10,000.00 advance payment (against future royalties) due upon signing.
Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) 10	Interim Products: Windows Media DRM 10 for Devices Development and Interim Product Distribution Agreement	Not applicable
	Final Products: Windows Media DRM 10 for Devices Final Product Distribution Agreement	Not applicable
Windows Media Format SDK	Software Development Kit (SDK): End-user license agreement (EULA) for the Windows Media Format 11 SDK -or- EULA for the Windows Media Format 9.5 SDK -or- EULA for the Windows Media Format 9 Series SDK	Offered at no additional charge to users with valid licensed copies of the Windows operating system.
	Certificates: License Agreement for Certificates for Windows Media Format 11 Software Development Kit -or-	Fees might apply Note   A Class 3 digital certificate is required. Approved vendors offer Class 3 digital certificates for a fee.
	License Agreement for Certificates for Windows Media Format (9 Series and Version 9.5) Software Development Kit
	Export Certificates: License Agreement for Windows Media DRM Export Certificates for Windows Media Format 11 Software Development Kit	Fees might apply Note   A Class 3 digital certificate is required. Approved vendors offer Class 3 digital certificates for a fee.
Windows Media Player	Player distribution: Windows Media Technology Distribution Agreement: Windows Media Player 11 -or- Windows Media Technology Distribution Agreement: Windows Media Player 10 -or- Windows Media Technology Distribution Agreement: Windows Media Player 9 Series	None
	Software Development Kit: EULA for the Windows Media Player 10 SDK -or- EULA for the Windows Media Player 9 Series SDK	Offered at no additional charge to users with valid licensed copies of the Windows operating system.
Windows Media Rights Manager	Windows Media Rights Manager 10.1 SDK -or- Windows Media Rights Manager 9 Series SDK	Offered at no additional charge to users with valid licensed copies of the Windows operating system. Note   A Class 3 digital certificate is required. Approved vendors offer Class 3 digital certificates for a fee.
Media Transport Protocol	Media Transfer Protocol Enhanced Specification	None
Windows Media Services	EULA for the Windows Media Services 9 Series SDK	Covered under Windows Server 2003 agreement
Windows Media Device Manager	Windows Media Device Manager 10 SDK -or- Windows Media Device Manager 9 Series SDK	Offered at no additional charge to users with valid licensed copies of the Windows operating system.
Windows Media Encoder	EULA for Windows Media Encoder 9 Series EULA for the Windows Media Encoder 9 Series SDK Windows Media Encoder Distribution Agreement	Offered at no additional charge to users with valid licensed copies of the Windows operating system.
Windows Media Data Session Toolkit	Windows Media Data Session Toolkit License Agreement Request agreement via License Request Form	None Note   A Class 3 digital certificate is required. Approved vendors offer Class 3 digital certificates for a fee.

How do I contact Microsoft about obtaining any necessary agreements?

To obtain any required licensing agreements, complete the Microsoft License Request Form.

How do I obtain more information about potential patent-license fees for use of MPEG-4 video?

For more information about potential patent-license fees for content providers and software developers who use MPEG-4 video, see the MPEG LA License for MPEG-4 Video FAQ.


Back to the top