[vlc] MPEG4 licensing for VLC..

[Arioch]

В письме от Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:35:31 +0400, Laura BANK  
<Laura.BANK at rcmp-grc.gc.ca> сообщал:

>     Does the VLC product  have a standing right to use MPEG4 codecs?

VLC surely has rights to use mpeg4 *codecs*, because *codecs* just mean  
*program* and those codecs they developed themselves (or maybe took for  
granted from another FOSS projects like ffdshow, libAVcodec or x264)

What "MPEG LA people" may wish, is not a license to *programs* - codecs,  
but a patent fee for some patents used in MPEG4 video format - in  
mathematic formula's and their descriptions, not in programs.
...and there are number of those. There are MPEG4 ASP mostly known as Xvid  
or DivX or 3ivX
...and there is MPEG4 AVC, aka H.264

So the question is, do You, in Your particular country, with Your  
particular laws, with Your particular goals and intentions, use patents,  
encapsulated in MPEG4 video *formats* for free or for fee?


So google and read about software patents.
Rule of thumb is that in modern patent law systems software patents are  
not possible, since "thought and idea are not to be patented"; in not so  
modern patent law systems they are possible still, but as for mp3 (full  
title MPEG-1 audio Level 3) MPEG LA *may* provide free license for  
non-commercial hgome usage. Or may not, i dunno, due to our local laws,  
softwae patents are not possible and i don't care about relations between  
VLC and MPEG LA.

You may start here as well:
  * http://www.videolan.org/support/faq.html
  *  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Open_formats_closed_by_software_patents
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Patent_licensing
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xvid#Patent_issues
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.263#Applications
-- 
Написано в почтовом клиенте браузера Opera: http://www.opera.com/mail/