Re: [bunk@fs.tum.de: Bug#65794: freeamp must go to non-free]
On Sat, Jun 17, 2000 at 12:51:58PM -0400, Brian Almeida wrote:
> Opinions? I thought that it had been decided that mp3 decoders were ok for
> main... I've maintained an mp3 player since I became a maintainer two years
> ago, first with emusic, now with freeamp...
>
> Please Cc me on replies, I am not on -legal.
>
The patent holders are only gently pursuing this patent claim, likely
because it is invalid. It's a bluff. If you pay the license, you're a
sucker. If you refuse, they eventually back down to avoid an unfavorable
precedent. This is no different from Unisys's claim that you need to pay for
a license to decode .gif files when you really don't.
mp3 encoders that employ the methods described in the patents are restricted
in various countries where such patents are permitted. There's probably
other ways to encode mp3's, but nobody has written any such code yet.
--
Brian Ristuccia
brian@ristuccia.com
bristucc@cs.uml.edu
Reply to: