Re: MPEG-4 patent license issues - libfaad* and libx264* and other codecs.
Don Armstrong <don@debian.org> writes:
> On Sun, 30 Apr 2006, Josselin Mouette wrote:
>> Le samedi 29 avril 2006 à 23:37 +0100, Matthew William Solloway Bell a
>> écrit :
>> > The packages libxine1, ffmpeg, include libfaad*, libx264* or another
>> > codec which implement the MPEG-4 Advanced Audio Coding and Advanced
>> > Video Coding standards.
>>
>> I have already stated this: Debian shouldn't have anything to do
>> with regard to patents. We should entirely ignore them unless
>> directly threatened, and such issues that depend so much on the
>> country should be up to the end-user to deal with.
>
> Like it or not, we can't completely ignore them in Debian. Each mirror
> operator needs to make their own decisions about their liability in
> their own country, but Debian itself needs to be careful about
> distributing works which have patents in the United States[1] where
> the patent holders are well known and have been inolved in patent
> litigation against individuals using their patents.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it use, not distribution, that
requires a patent license?
--
Måns Rullgård
mru@inprovide.com
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