[MEncoder-users] Patent free codec

[Reimar Döffinger]

Hi,
On Sun, Aug 21, 2005 at 10:51:34AM -0400, Rich Felker wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 21, 2005 at 02:20:08PM +0200, Dominik 'Rathann' Mierzejewski wrote:
> > That's because most of the algorithms in video encoding
> > are patented and you can't develop a similar codec without
> > using them. And Theora is similar to MPEG-4.
> > 
> > I'd say Dirac and Snow could be patent-free.
> 
> Definitely not. Wavelets are not at all patent-free.

I'd say first you would have to define what patent-free is.
If by patent free you mean there is and never will be an patent anywhere
in the world that is close enough to what this does so that somebody
might attempt to sue you, then you can safely say nothing is patent-free.
Or do you want to restrict it to valid patents? Then here in Europe all
codecs (from my very limited knowledge of the law) are patent-free.
Or do you want to restrict it to patents that you couldn't invalidate
given enough money? In that case you should consider that in theory all
you need is one person to whom the patented thing was trivial at the
time of invention. I guess that comes close to "you can invalidate every
patent if you try hard enough". In that case you really could consider
everything patent-free.
So define more clearly what you want to know, and you might get a useful
answer...

Greetings,
Reimar Döffinger