Silly question, but aren't the patents on MP3 almost due to expire? Isn't one of the biggest problems with the mp3 format the fact that there are multiple pate

Silly question, but aren't the patents on MP3 almost due to expire? Isn't one of the biggest problems with the mp3 format the fact that there are multiple patents owned by multiple corporations in different markets? According to [1] some have expired but there are tons more that haven't. It is also not surprising that the East Texas District mentioned in TAL has been used to settle a lawsuit involving the use of the mp3 format[2]. [1]http://www.tunequest.org/a-big-list-of-mp3-patents/20070226/ http://www.tunequest.org/a-big-list-of-mp3-patents/20070226/ [2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3#Licensing_and_patent_issues http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3#Licensing_and_patent_issues