Kirk Strauser wrote: > At 2003-02-05T16:07:12Z, Craig Dickson <crdic@pacbell.net> writes: > > > Since it would have an mp3 encoder, it couldn't possibly be under GPL, > > since mp3 encoders are patent-encumbered. > > Not true. LAME is released under the GPL - it was written from scratch: > > http://lame.sourceforge.net/ That LAME was "written from scratch" is irrelevant. We're talking about patents, not copyright. Actually, I was not entirely correct before; a patent-encumbered program may be distributed under GPL, but only in countries where the patents are not valid. GPL section 7 and LPGL section 11 prohibit the licensee from distributing the software if the licensee cannot live up to all the obligations attached to the software; this includes the conditions of the (L)GPL license itself, plus locally-recognized patents, and possibly other considerations such as contracts to which the licensee is bound. Fraunhofer has MP3-related patents in a number of countries, including the USA, Australia, Russia, Japan, Korea, Germany, Austria, Spain, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden (along with a few other countries whose ISO codes I do not recognize offhand), but it may be that some of these patents are avoidable such that a very careful MP3 implementation (such as LAME, perhaps) would be freely distributable in some (but probably not all) of those countries. Note that the LAME web page warns that you may need a patent license to use their code, so they are obviously aware of this issue. Craig
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