i have doubt regarding free-ness of ffmpeg
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is really ffmpeg free as in freedom as well as un-patent-encumbered(i mean
legally free).
i know matroska format is free and implementation is also in free license,
not to seem offending or otherwise
fedora doesn't have ffmpeg in their main repos,they don't even have
mastroka(neither trisquel has) installed by default, why won't that be a
legal problem?
is it because trisquel is spain based, mp3-codec patent laws don't apply?
don't get me wrong , i love trisquel guys .. but mp3 thing seems odd.
--
Vasu
5th Year Dual Degree Student
Department of Aerospace Engineering
IIT Kharagpur
I would see this page here (http://ffmpeg.org/legal.html). I noticed you are from IIT so I don't know how patent law works in India but in America software can be free but patent-encumbered. The issues are separate (although related).
Take a look at the ffmpeg legal page. It is licensed under the LGPL with some parts under GPL so it is for sure free software. They have a section about patents on that page so I would check there. Also in Spain they don't recognize software patents like they do in the USA.
So I'm moving to Spain? Guess I need to learn some Spanish.
not if the latest law that's brewing in the eu gets passed. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/22/european-unitary-patent-software-warning
what do you know, other people posted that
Unlike copyright law, which applies globally, patents only apply to specific jurisdictions. Any patents held on the MP3 format are valid only in the US. European and Latin American countries aren't affected by it.
(disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, this is merely my understanding of how it works)
The copyright law is local to the country where it was voted... but, yes, it is quite similar everywhere in the world. Patents exist in Europe, Latin America, China, India, etc. but not software patents which indeed should not exist.
(same disclaimer as yours :-p)
afaik Germany has no software patents and rejects their relevance in court. Glad to be living in Germany myself :)
Indeed. However, we ought to watch out the "unitary patent": http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/22/european-unitary-patent-software-warning
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