- From: Maik Merten <maikmerten@gmx.net>
- Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:48:10 +0200
Nicholas Shanks schrieb: > This is only possible if the codec is free. I thought we were talking > about the problem of adding non-free codecs (namely WMV and MPEG4) to > free software, (possibly also involving reverse-engineering the codec). Reverse-engineering doesn't lead to usable implementations of non-free formats. You end up having *sourcecode* with a free license attached to it, but you're not allowed to *distribute* actual binaries of that code because the codec is still covered by patents. Take for example libavcodec: That actually has WMV support and its sourcecode is open. However, thanks to the MPEG and Microsoft codecs being patented (and because those patents are enforced) you cannot put it into Mozilla. "Open source" usually only covers copyright. Truly free codecs are open sourced AND don't require patent licensing. Maik Merten
Received on Wednesday, 27 June 2007 08:48:10 UTC