[shmerl]

> While it would be nice to have an explicit statement from Apple, the absence of it speaks volumes.

I'm not sure what that means. Either they released it royalty free or not. Since there is no public statement about it, there is no reason to assume it's free.

> Has MPEG made any statement about the MPEG-LA patent pool?

I don't think anyone cares to make statements about patent trolls. The only effective way to deal with them is to bust their claims in court, which not many want to do.