Re: early review of RH 9 (Shrike)
Michael Knepher <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.linux.redhat.release.phoebe |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
On Wed, 2003-03-26 at 21:04, Matthew Miller wrote: > On Wed, Mar 26, 2003 at 10:59:50PM -0500, Elton Woo wrote: > > I would not dare to second-guess Red Hat's Legal Department. BUT... > > this is mighty strange: > > SUSE 8.1 > > http://www.suse.com/us/private/products/suse_linux/i386/multimedia.html > > SuSE: based in Germany. So is Fraunhofer. > > > Mandrake 9.1:Multimedia and Games > > http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/features.php3#7 > > Mandrake: based in France. And, if I'm not mistaken, Thomson is hq'd in France. Nope, I'm not mistaken. > This may have something to do with it. It may also be that Red Hat probably > looks like a fatter target for a lawsuit. Here's the gist, as I understand it: the GPL says you can't GPL code that's encumbered by patent restrictions that will prevent redistribution down the line. The MP3 patents are royalty free for software that's distributed free-of-charge, but must be licensed by developers who sell their MP3-based software. Thomson has apparently not been forthcoming about what it means when, say, XMMS with MP3 code is bundled into a retail box with a price tag on it. If Thomson decides to seek royalties from Linux distros, that's a conflict with the GPL provision, meaning the MP3 code in XMMS can't legitimately be GPL'd. Red Hat is taking the high road, and the others either know something Red Hat doesn't, or are just hoping Thomson takes the more lenient approach in re: their licensing terms. > > -- > Matthew Miller [email protected] <http://www.mattdm.org/> > Boston University Linux ------> <http://linux.bu.edu/> -- Michael Knepher <[email protected]> -- Phoebe-list mailing list [email protected] https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/phoebe-list