[MPlayer-users] thinking about mpeg4 licence etc.

[Clemens Wächter]

On 01 Jun 2002 15:47:14 -0400
gabor <gabor at realtime.sk> wrote:

> [Automatic answer: RTFM (read DOCS, FAQ), also read DOCS/bugreports.html]
> hi,
> 
> i wanted to ask a long time ago , but i forgot somehow :-)
> 
> ... there were news on slashdot and other places ( like maccentral )
> about that the mpeg alliance ( or commitee or what's their name ) plans
> to license mpeg4 in the following way: mpeg4 wants 0.25$ pro
> encoder/decoder + 0.02$/hour for mpeg4 content.

Hmm... how long was that ago?

I searched slashdot and did not find the article you talked about.
But it may well be that I am simply too stupid to search correctly.

Anyway, how do they want to control how many mpeg4 content is produced
and how do they want to charge for it, even more wheter the content you
have/produce was payed for or not?

Sounds pretty much like a "we dislike open source and need our cash 
collection code included in every implementation"-policy.

This isn't going to be easy to do this, don't they have to publish
a iso reference implementation which is published?

But enough for the questions...

> 
> i thought that it's none of my concern because i always used divx..
> 
> but then i've found out that divx is basically mpeg4...
> 
> now that means that if we'll have to pay for mpeg4, we'll have to pay
> for divx too?

I guess it will be the same for mpeg4 as ist is for mp3:
Fraunhofer insitutes developed it for Thompson iirc and they patented it,
and had to release a implementation for iso reference purposes.
Which was patched by the Lame developers.

I don't know wheter this legal in every country but right now the lame
developers have replaced every piece of source with their own implementation
and now it seems to be entirely free. I am not a lawyer but as far as I know 
they can't forbid you your own implementation of mpeg4.

Additionally, divx/mpeg4 is already around for quite a while and it will be 
very hard and messy to force all users and developers to obey the new regulations.

Plus those patent claims are not legal in every country. Afaik they are illegal
in Europe, and they pretty surely are in Australia. Lame for example is hosted in
Australia (or at least was) and I guess mpeg4 projects will move to another country
if neccesary.

So I guess very little will change for us users. And a little more but still quite
few will for most developers.  

Anyway, I guess they can't change the Windows video codecs, we can keep then and most
Windows users will probably. A fight against the users is a fight no company and no
court can possibly win. So let us not loose hope. If they see that they would have
to fight too much they will probably stop bothering.

BTW: When did they ask for the patents? Before or after umm.... lets say... Project
Mayo started? Is this patent legal in any way? 
Im struck odd because they start asking for money that late...


Clemens