Re: License grant for Open Source MP3 decoders?
Michael Crawford wrote:
> While Fraunhofer et. al. might be willing to overlook MP3 player
> developers who code them just to scratch an itch, I have to be
> *scrupulously* careful to obey the law where I live, which is in the
> software-patent-enforcing US of A. While not yet profitable, Ogg Frog
> is a moneymaking business, and its website is a .com and not a .org.
I've never heard of any exception for MP3 patent licensing based
on the fact that a software implementation is FOSS-licensed. Perhaps
patent holders overlook such software because it is perceived
as "freeware" and so has no royalty potential. But I know that
large FOSS distributors have removed MP3 playback from their
distributions exactly because of patent liability issues.
And BTW the MP3 patent owners seem to have little problems enforcing
them against software implementations in Europe. Please do not bet
your business on "software patents are illegal in Europe".
Arnoud
(TINLA and all that)
--
IT lawyer, blogger and patent attorney ~ Partner at ICTRecht.nl legal services
http://www.arnoud.engelfriet.net/ ~ http://www.iusmentis.com/
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