Restricted codecs in Trisquel

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Grubb
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Joined: 02/19/2010

Hello

I'm living in Europe and as far as i know, in Europe it is legal to use free implementaions of patented codecs (correct me if I'm wrong). If I install for e.g. a free software MP3 codec in Trisquel will it be still a 100% free software system?

quidam

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Joined: 12/22/2004

> I'm living in Europe and as far as i know, in Europe it is legal to
> use free implementaions of patented codecs (correct me if I'm wrong).
> If I install for e.g. a free software MP3 codec in Trisquel will it
> be still a 100% free software system?

Sure. But Trisquel plays mp3 already, so there is no need to add codecs.
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AndrewT

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Joined: 12/28/2009

It plays mp3s, but it doesn't encode them.

usnica
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Joined: 02/22/2010

I'm in the United States where there may be legal issues with certain codecs & libraries, such as libdvdcss. I also read that the VLC player, which is on the roadmap for future releases, may be illegal here. I didn't see anything other than the "ugly" gstreamer plugins installed by default in the 2.2.2 LTS version so I removed them and I got mp3 codecs through Fluendo (it's free) to satisfy licensing. Would it make sense to have a version without the restricted codecs or programs for those of us in countries where licensing is more restricted just to avoid potential problems? Maybe there are not that many of us to make it worthwhile.

Daemonax
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Joined: 09/30/2009

> I'm in the United States where there may be legal issues with certain codecs
> & libraries, such as libdvdcss. I also read that the VLC player, which is on
> the roadmap for future releases, may be illegal here. I didn't see anything
> other than the "ugly" gstreamer plugins installed by default in the 2.2.2 LTS
> version so I removed them and I got mp3 codecs through Fluendo (it's free) to
> satisfy licensing. Would it make sense to have a version without the
> restricted codecs or programs for those of us in countries where licensing is
> more restricted just to avoid potential problems? Maybe there are not that
> many of us to make it worthwhile.
>

You shouldn't even be concerned about such laws. They don't deserve your
obedience and you shouldn't surrender your freedom so easily. I very
much doubt that you really think there is any chance you'd get in legal
trouble for using that software.

Certainly bring attention to problematic laws, hopefully something will
be done to rectify the problems, but I don't see why you should
surrender your freedom so easily. Not using the software isn't going to
bring attention to the problems. There are some things where abstaining
is an effective form of protest, but abstaining from using certain
computer programs is not effective.

You've got one life, so use Free software, and don't surrender your
freedom so easily.

quidam

I am a member!

I am a translator!

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Joined: 12/22/2004

> I'm in the United States where there may be legal issues with certain
> codecs & libraries, such as libdvdcss. I also read that the VLC
> player, which is on the roadmap for future releases, may be illegal
> here.

VLC is perfectly legal, libdvdcss is not embedded in VLC by default.

> I didn't see anything other than the "ugly" gstreamer plugins
> installed by default in the 2.2.2 LTS version so I removed them and I
> got mp3 codecs through Fluendo (it's free) to satisfy licensing.

Codecs are patented software, a different issue than the decss problem.
IANAL; but in my understanding you can use libre implementations of
patented codecs for personal fair use.

> Would it make sense to have a version without the restricted codecs
> or programs for those of us in countries where licensing is more
> restricted just to avoid potential problems? Maybe there are not
> that many of us to make it worthwhile.

The FSF lawyers think it is not a problem for them to distribute codecs
from their USA server, so neither do we. Libdvdcss, OTOH, is
potentially ilegal in both the USA and Europe, so we were forced to
remove it from the latest release on.
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AndrewT

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Joined: 12/28/2009

I agree with Daemonax. Abstaining from libraries because they have the remotest chance of inviting a lawsuit only makes us weaker.

Not including libdvdcss2 by default is a bad idea; to do so place the tyrannical threat of patent law too high above the fundamental right of a person to play a DVD he legally owns, regardless of location.

quidam

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I am a translator!

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Joined: 12/22/2004

> I agree with Daemonax. Abstaining from libraries because they have
> the remotest chance of inviting a lawsuit only makes us weaker.

As individuals, I agree.

But in some cases software distributors just cannot afford some risks
that could jeopardize the individual user's interests.

> Not including libdvdcss2 by default is a bad idea;

That one was removed by request of the FSF.

You can install it with this command:
sudo sh /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
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