[MEncoder-users] Patent free codec

Rich Felker dalias at aerifal.cx
Mon Aug 22 17:25:27 CEST 2005


On Mon, Aug 22, 2005 at 11:38:24AM +0200, Reimar Döffinger wrote:
> 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.

Patent-free means that you can use them in a business setting in any
jurisdiction you might plan to, without fearing that someone will sue
you, get an injunction against you, etc. based on patent claims over
the codec.

> 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

ALL software patents are invalid given enough money since they're all
on obvious processes and 99% have prior art. This does not keep people
from getting bullied over them.

> 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

Good luck getting a court to accept this. You have no idea how corrupt
the world is...

> patent if you try hard enough". In that case you really could consider
> everything patent-free.

My claim is that everything is patent-free from a moral and legal
standpoint, because the patents are invalid. However that won't help
you when you get sued... :(

Rich




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