Re: Patents and Multimedia codecs in Debian
2012/3/28 Raj Mathur (राज माथुर) <raju@linux-delhi.org>:
> On Wednesday 28 Mar 2012, Simon McVittie wrote:
>> On 28/03/12 07:40, Alexey Eromenko wrote:
>> > The Debian project includes a number of patent-encumbered
>> > Multimedia codecs
>>
>> As mentioned in Debian's patent policy
>> <http://www.debian.org/legal/patent> point 3, "please refrain from
>> posting patent concerns publicly or discussing patents outside of
>> communication with legal counsel, where they are subject to
>> attorney-client privilege".
>>
>> Transparency and public discussion are usually good things, but
>> patents are an area where they can be harmful.
>
> Sorry, that just doesn't make sense. In essence, that is foreclosing
> all peer-to-peer discussion about patents in the context of Debian.
>
> I happen to be from a state that doesn't recognise software patents, and
> fail to see why the spectre of fear created by one single country should
> proscribe all free and open discussion and education about an issue that
> eventually (through Debian distributions) affects us all.
It's not just one country, though[1]. While the "spectre of fear" may
originate in the United States (and that's debatable) the infection
has spread across the globe.
[1] http://en.swpat.org/wiki/Countries_and_regions
--
Chris
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