Is this true? Software patent is a gray area in the EU and I would not recommend to take for granted that European companies do not have to pay the h.264 license, even if they only distribute in Europe.
Concerning VLC, their FAQ [1] does not mention the EU aspect: they say that they cannot pay for the license because the software is free and that "the end-user becomes responsible for complying with the licensing and royalty requirements" (whether this would be defensible in court is debatable)
Concerning VLC, their FAQ [1] does not mention the EU aspect: they say that they cannot pay for the license because the software is free and that "the end-user becomes responsible for complying with the licensing and royalty requirements" (whether this would be defensible in court is debatable)
[1] https://wiki.videolan.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions/#What_a...