Using Windows Media Foundation to encode h264 (Licensing)

Question

Hello all,

I am wondering around the license agreement for the h264 encoder that is available on windows by default.

As I understand from: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/medfound/supported-media-formats-in-media-foundation

The video encoder: H.264 Video Encoder (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/medfound/h-264-video-encoder)

Is already supported out of the box by Windows Media Foundation - if I would like to use this in my software commercially would there be any legal or license requirements since this is provided with all new windows installations as I understand?

Or to phrase it in another way:

Since it seems that the h264 encoder (Mfh264enc.dll) is preinstalled with all new windows installations as of today can I use the encoder (via windows media foundation) commercially in my product? Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Answer 1

"Media Foundation is the next generation multimedia platform for Windows that enables developers, consumers, and content providers to embrace the new wave of premium content with enhanced robustness, unparalleled quality, and seamless interoperability" seems to indicate that you can do whatever you like,

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/medfound/microsoft-media-foundation-sdk?source=recommendations

Here you need a lawyer, not some random guy over the internet.