So I just found out that ms Media Foundation Source Reader can read and decode MP3..

Does this mean that if Im using Media Foundation to develop my app I can use MP3 without worrying about patents?

MP3 patents, if I understand, are on decoding and encoding algorithms, if microsoft is doing it in its library, no doubt they already paid for it.

So me, as a developer using MS sdk, am free to use it, cause Im not using any decoding/encoding algorithm, Im using the already licensed MS one..? It runs on windows only, so it makes sense, since windows is not free

I tryed researching but the info on the subject is messy.. The fun thing is that the code to read the media files is the same, you just give the file name. If Im not free to use it for playing MP3 I will have to change the code to " oops, looks this is an MP3, crash please"..

For exemple, theres this sdk sample:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd742786(v=vs.85).aspx

This sample will convert ANY of the supported audio formats to wav, I just tested and it works like a charm, I tested with an MP3 file.

Suppose I was the one who developed the program, would I be allowed to distribute it?

If you are using the Microsoft SDK, you can distribute programs created with the SDK without additional fees needing to be paid.

woohoo \o/