That is not what MPEG-LA announced, though it might be what they
wanted you to believe. It is free to *transmit* H.264 content over
the internet, if you don't charge the receiver. Nothing about the
requirements for implementing H.264 encoders or decoders has changed
at all.
http://shaver.off.net/diary/2010/08/27/free-as-in-smokescreen/
Mike