MythTV / licensing / GPL / Patents
Brian Gough
bjg at network-theory.co.uk
Mon May 17 07:29:15 UTC 2004
Pete Dijkman <pete_dijkman at yahoo.com> writes:
> MythTV http://mythtv.org is an example of a great free software
> project. Non-royalty free patents and the GPL just seem
> uncompatible to me or am I missing something??
You're right, they are incompatible, but until the patent holder
brings a case the vendor is not necessarily violating the GPL in
itself.
Releasing any product carries a risk of patent infringement (we're all
probably infringing on some patent somewhere) so there is a judgement
call involved.
However, I wouldn't recommend using the MP3 codec in a commercial
product using free sofware --- since there are good free alternatives
available, such as Ogg Vorbis, it would be better to use those.
--
Brian Gough
Network Theory Ltd,
Publishing Free Software Manuals --- http://www.network-theory.co.uk/
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