Is BLE changing licensing policy?

Question

Sorry for the non-tech. question but I just heard that BlueTooth group is significantly changing BLE licensing policy. Maybe it's some kind of FUD but it should be mandatory to pay a thousands of $ for BLE licensing fee (BLE patents) per one developed device model that is using a BLE module and going to the market. Even the definition of own attributes (UUIDS) would be charged. Is it true? If so, it's going to kill all start-up projects and projects not intended to sell high volumes of BLE enabled devices...

Ole Morten · Accepted Answer

It is true that February brought a new process for qualification, and it is no longer possible to qualify a Bluetooth product without paying any fees, as it was previously. 
 I'd recommend you to go through and read the information that's available on Bluetooth SIG's web site, for example here and here . There will probably be an update to our qualification whitepaper, but this isn't quite ready yet. 
 The cheapest way is to be a part of the Innovation Incentive Program, in which case a listing is $2,500, but have certain restrictions on company revenue and number of designs. For regular Adopters, the price is $8000, while for Associates, the price is $4000.