Re: ITP: lame

[Robert Woodcock <rcw@debian.org>]

On Wed, May 10, 2000 at 11:31:16PM +0200, Robert Bihlmeyer wrote:
> (more or less) ok, the facts in order:
> 
> Description: Ain't an MP3 Encoder (Is!)
>  Lame can compress sound data into MPEG-1/2 Audio bitstreams with different
>  size/quality tradeoffs. Contrary to its name, it is quite fast.
> 
> Homepage: <URL:http://www.sulaco.org/mp3/>
> 
> I made a package for a then-current version some weeks ago. But since
> lame was based on the ISO demonstration source, distributing it was at
> least in the gray. On Monday the last bit of ISO code has been
> eradicated from lame - the source is now GPL'd in full. See
> <URL:http://www.sulaco.org/mp3/history.html>
> 
> There is still the problems of patents - see
> <URL:http://www.mp3-tech.org/patents.html> and
> <URL:http://sound.media.mit.edu/~eds/mpeg-patents-faq> for some details.
> 
> The real question is whether lame infringes on Frauenhofer's patents.
> As long as it used ISO code, it almost certainly did. Now, it's not
> clear. I mailed the maintainer for more info. What should be done if
> it definitely/possibly/maybe infringes?
> 
> Even if lame can not go into Debian due to patent issues, I will put
> a new package up for download as soon as possible.

It's safe to say that it still infringes.

http://www.patents.ibm.com/details?pn=US05579430__

Be aware that the patent issues keep this from being distributed in the US
and Germany and that means you can't use Debian's mirror network to
distribute it at all (unless .de non-us mirrors drop off the face of the
earth or we create a non-de mirror network).

If you do find a good place to host it, make sure it gets added to the
unofficial APT sources.list page at
http://www.internatif.org/bortzmeyer/debian/apt-sources/.

BTW, popularity-contest results (http://www.debian.org/~apenwarr/popcon/)
report a curious number of unofficial packages for almost every encoder. :)
-- 
Robert Woodcock - rcw@debian.org
"Standing up to an evil system is exhilarating, and now I have a taste
for it." -- Richard Stallman