Is there any charge for testing or licensing the trademark?
No.
Can I say my product is "Fraunhofer Certified?"
No, all tests are conducted by manufacturers and users themselves and in no event is a manufacturer or user permitted to claim or imply any approval or endorsement of its products by Fraunhofer. Manufacturers or users also may not give the impression that Fraunhofer is in in any way responsible for the performance of the products. Furthermore, tests are performed by you, not Fraunhofer; thus, you may not say that Fraunhofer tested your product. Your license with Fraunhofer provides acceptable phrasing to be used to describe your product’s compliance with the xHE-AAC testing program.
Can I say my product encodes or decodes xHE-AAC without a license from Fraunhofer?
No. The xHE-AAC trademark is owned and registered by Fraunhofer and cannot be used without a valid license from Fraunhofer. The intent of the program is to ensure only tested products are eligible for a license and thus can use the xHE-AAC trademark.
Can I test a product for another company?
Only if you are working as a consultant, contractor, or agent on their behalf. Every manufacturer must test their own products and receive a separate license.
If I change the product, do I have to re-test it?
If the change affects the xHE-AAC encoding or decoding, or any of the related audio processing operations, yes. If it is a change to another part of the product, or if there is uncertainty about a change, please contact Fraunhofer.
I’m just using the Fraunhofer FDK code, can’t I say my product decodes xHE-AAC?
No. Although the Fraunhofer FDK decoder in Android is a xHE-AAC decoder, your product that includes the FDK decoder has more than just the FDK library, and thus would need to be tested and licensed.
I am making content using an xHE-AAC encoder; do I need a license to label my audio as xHE-AAC?
No, the license is for software libraries, application frameworks, operating systems, or end-user hardware or software products that perform xHE-AAC encoding or decoding. As long as your content actually comes from a genuine xHE-AAC encoder, you may use "xHE-AAC" when referring to it .
How can I verify an encoder or decoder is legitimately using the xHE-AAC trademark?
If you have concerns, please contact us.