[64studio-devel] xjadeo + ffmpeg + software patents

[Daniel James]

Hi Robin,

> I was wondering about your note  http://64studio.com/ticket/137
> 
> Is this an issue with the ffmpeg that can be worked around by using a
> different video library (fi. libtheora, libdv, libquicktime,...)
> or is it about Codec licensing+copyrights ?

We have considered building a minimal version of ffmpeg which only 
supports free software codecs, in order to use tools like xjadeo with 
Theora or, eventually, Dirac movies. (It would also be useful for Theora 
export from Kino).

The problem is not just software patents, which are bad enough, but also 
the incompatibility of the GPL with pretty much all patent licensing 
agreements. Which is probably just as well.

> What packages are affected ? gstreamer too? or only some of it's modules?

Gstreamer goes a long way towards solving this problem by bundling the 
problematic codecs separately, in the -bad and -ugly packages. It also 
uses some LGPL components (eg totem-gstreamer) which allow us to link to 
a patent-licensed MP3 plugin without causing a licence violation. We can 
do this because 64 Studio Ltd. has a legal agreement with Fluendo to 
distribute their non-free MP3 plugin. Unfortunately, xjadeo does not 
support Gstreamer as far as I know.

> Did you consider to use the 'debian-installer-package' trick ? - provide
> a free package that will install non-free software. - I guess you do
> want some [anon] 3rd party to supply license critical packages

We're not happy with that approach; it's in a legal grey area and 
probably not acceptable to institutional users (for example, a college). 
There are also security implications for running third-party binaries of 
course.

> I'm far from understanding what http://mpegla.com/ actually says.

I am not a lawyer, but my interpretation goes something like: "anything 
you do related to these multimedia technologies, we own, and you will 
pay us, or we'll sue."

> I understand that I - as a enduser - am responsible to pay.

It's not usually a direct payment to MPEG LA. It's more like a tax on 
any product that you buy, which the manufacturer pays on your behalf to 
the MPEG LA.

Cheers!

Daniel