Re: XMMS and the new MP3 patent terms
On Tue, Aug 27, 2002 at 13:01:52 -0700, Paul Johnson wrote:
> So does this mean XMMS gets relegated to non-free now?
Not necessarily. Patent issues are tricky, and there are a number of other
ways to resolve this, e.g.
- Ignore the patent. There are many frivolous patents for extremely basic
things, for which ignoring is an appropriate way of dealing. mp3 may not
fall into this category though.
- Invalidate the patent, e.g. by establishing prior art or by proving that
the patent holders weren't allowed to file for a patent under funding
rules (compare to the US government not being allowed to enforce
copyrights on works produced with government funding).
- Move mp3-decoding packages to non-US. The EU/EPO is still supposed to have
regulations ruling out algorithms (as such, i.e. not implemented in
"devices") for patentability.
- Drop MP3 support from audio software and support unencumbered codecs like
Ogg Vorbis and FLAC exclusively.
Ray
--
Outlook Express is free, and also sometimes lets strangers share your hard
disk - is this anarchism?
The Register's Graham Lea commenting on Steve Balmer's comparison of
Linux to communism in http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/12266.html
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