[FFmpeg-devel] Legality of writing decoder for patented codec in the US?

[compn]

On Thu, 25 Jul 2013 08:47:30 -0400, Marcus Johnson wrote:
>I'm wondering how illegal it would be to write a decoder for a heavily
>patented audio codec in America, and in which ways I could mitigate my risk

not illegal at all, as long as you dont circumvent drm.
dont use the name of the company in your codec, like 'dolby
decoder'.

there may be reverse engineering laws, but if you are doing it for
interoperability purposes it may be under fair use. you'd have to ask
eff or lawyers to find out.

ways to mitigate risk:
release the code anonymously, in the public domain.
only distribute source code and not any binaries.
dont sell your product unless you get a license from the company what
holds the patents.
dont look at any original company source code to keep it a 'clean room'
implementation.


none of this is legal advice. i am no lawyer.
-compn