Re: non-free, LZW, RSA, and mp3
On Wed, Oct 27, 1999 at 12:50:17PM +0200, Jens Ritter wrote:
> Brian Ristuccia <brianr@osiris.978.org> writes:
>
> > I know this has come up before, but it's not truly resolved, so I'll ask
> > again.
> >
> > Why is Debian able to distribute software that uses patented LZW and RSA
> > algorithms from non-free, but unable to distribute mp3 encoders in the same
> > fashion?
>
> Because of the different policies of the companies holding this
> algorithms.
AFIK, _none_ of them have granted us permission to distribute their
software. If we can't find a statement of explicit permission from the
patent holders, I'm either going to argue that we remove the offending
software from Debian, or use it as a precident for installing one of the mp3
encoders. We can't have it both ways.
>
> unisys has granted permission to use LZW to some of the (non-)free
> software writers, while Fraunhofer enforces it´s rights on mp3
> encoders.
>
I don't believe any such permission exists. The following is from the UNISYS
web site: "Unisys therefore cautions recipients, users and distributors of
hardware or software products containing LZW conversion capability to make
sure that they are lawfully acquiring and/or distributing licensed LZW
software. The fact that a product includes a notice regarding the need for a
Unisys license (or a statement that the software is "freeware") should NOT
be relied on to avoid liability, since the distributor may not in fact be
authorized to distribute the LZW software and may itself also be subject to
liability along with the recipient. You should also be aware that Unisys
licenses have a limited field of use and may not allow your intended use
even if the vendor/distributor has a Unisys license. For example, the
typical Unisys license for standalone software does NOT permit copying,
modification, resale, use on a server or in a network, or use for
Internet/Intranet/Extranet or Web site operation. Other limitations may also
be applicable. Upon request, Unisys will, in most instances, be able to
advise you whether a specific software vendor is licensed by Unisys and the
scope of this license." at http://corp2.unisys.com/LeadStory/lzwfaq.html
They've also recently gone around to web sites using gif files created by
software published by entities that have not licensed their LZW technology
trying to extort a $5000 license fee.
Also, as best I know, the only time RSA permits its tecnology to be used is
in not-for-profit programs compiled with the RSAREF library. Not all the
programs in non-free do this.
--
Brian Ristuccia
brianr@osiris.978.org
bristucc@nortelnetworks.com
bristucc@cs.uml.edu
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