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The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

iis.fraunhofer.de

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Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#141

Post by virmundi »

microwavecamera wrote: post #113
2bluesc wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How do you "support a format"? AFAIK nothing will convince Apple to release music in a better (patent-free) codec, much less convince others to dump DRM. Then you start by not giving them your money. It's a uphill battle, but someone has to fight the good fight instead of just throwing their hands-up.

Your right and it works. People used to say the same thing about Linux and open source software.

I wish that worked here. You'd have to establish an open source media group with direct hooks into the i* platform. Then you'd have to get major acts on that platform.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#142

Post by sjwright »

duskwuff wrote: post #139
sjwright wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can only say that because of the astonishing improvements to MP3 encoding over the past fifteen years. Back in 2003 when Apple opened the iTunes Store, AAC was substantially better than MP3 at all bitrates, most particularly the 128 kbps rate Apple initially used. In fact the decision would have been made back in 2001 or earlier, given that the original iPod released in 2001 supported AAC decoding. (The music lab…

I don't think the iPod supported AAC at its initial release. Virtually no software supported it at that time -- that didn't really come until 2003, when iTunes 3.0 added support for AAC (including encoding). The Music Store was introduced in the same release, so there would have been a required software update for iPods at the same time, to add support for Fairplay encrypted files.

Correct, not supported at the point of release, but its specs did strongly suggest it was factored into the hardware design.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#143

Post by JulianMorrison »

TD-Linux wrote: post #32
notaplumber wrote: post #11

Recognizing this adds legitimacy to software patents. Don't. There have been free and open source MP3 decoders for many years now.

Not believing in software patents is unlikely to change a court's mind. Instead, support formats that are royalty free from the start - Vorbis, Opus, and Codec2, for example.

The major trouble with patents, and the thing that puts them in a special category of nuisance all of their own, is that it's fundamentally impossible to know that a thing is unencumbered until each particular claim to the contrary has been hashed out in court, at ruinous expense. And there is no legal proscription against patent owners letting you think you were safe for years, and then popping up to cream off the fruits of your work. We know MP3 was encumbered. We don't, and can't, know that MP3, Vorbis, and so forth aren't encumbered now. All we can know is that nobody has popped up to hold the industry to ransom... yet.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#144

Post by __jal »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #91
vkou wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument for why software patents are different is premised by why patents exist. They exist to grant someone a monopoly in exchange for them sharing their invention with the world. If I patent a dishwasher that does not clog, I will be rewarded for my invention... But once the patent expires, a skilled engineer will be able to look at my patent, and build a dishwasher that does not clog - in far less time then i…

With your ideas about patents someone should do it out of the kindness of their heart I guess. Is that what has driven most technological advancements of the human race? In your software-patentless world, why would a genius choose to work in software as opposed to another field inventing patentable tangible objects where he or she will be monetarily rewarded for it and able to make a living? Don't say you are already…

Right, it was only after the patent office was invented that people started inventing things. Before that, nothing of consequence was created by humanity.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#145

Post by jhasse »

selectodude wrote: post #103
throwaway91111 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a suggestion? Where can I find Rihanna in Ogg/Vorbis?

Spotify uses Ogg Vorbis.

and DRM. Therefore it doesn't help you that they use Ogg Vorbis internally.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#146

Post by Jare »

throwaway91111 wrote: post #67
TD-Linux wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not believing in software patents is unlikely to change a court's mind. Instead, support formats that are royalty free from the start - Vorbis, Opus, and Codec2, for example.

How do you "support a format"? AFAIK nothing will convince Apple to release music in a better (patent-free) codec, much less convince others to dump DRM.

Support software and services that supports that format, and try to avoid supporting software and services that do not support it. Including your own if you are a developer, of course.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#147

Post by self-diversity »

Loony2 wrote: post #90
ralfd wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the vast majority of US software patents are not patentable in Europe. If the US patent system would impede progress the effect should be a stronger European IT industry. I am doubtful of that though.

One still stay away from stuff that is patented in the US as a European company though, most European companies want to go to market in the US sooner or later.

That's actually a pretty great argument that software patents are a good idea for the US, it prevents foreign copycat competition from soaking up the market on us.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#148

Post by djsumdog »

JulianMorrison wrote: post #143
TD-Linux wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not believing in software patents is unlikely to change a court's mind. Instead, support formats that are royalty free from the start - Vorbis, Opus, and Codec2, for example.

The major trouble with patents, and the thing that puts them in a special category of nuisance all of their own, is that it's fundamentally impossible to know that a thing is unencumbered until each particular claim to the contrary has been hashed out in court, at ruinous expense. And there is no legal proscription against patent owners letting you think you were safe for years, and then popping up to cream off the f…

I'm really glad New Zealand decided to disallow software patents. I wish more countries would follow suit.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#149

Post by chc »

mattkevan wrote: post #126
ryukafalz wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The simplest thing, IMO, is just to buy your music on CD and rip it to a free format yourself. Some indie artists release their work online in free formats, but for mainstream artists a physical copy is often the only way.

Buy from Bandcamp. Support indie artists and buy music in MP3, FLAC, Apple Lossless, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WAV or AIFF.

The question was specifically "Where can I find Rihanna in Ogg/Vorbis?" Rihanna is not on Bandcamp, so this is a pretty poor answer. You're essentially telling people to like different music than they do.

Re: The licensing program for MP3-related patents has been terminated

#150

Post by djsumdog »

throwaway91111 wrote: post #67
TD-Linux wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not believing in software patents is unlikely to change a court's mind. Instead, support formats that are royalty free from the start - Vorbis, Opus, and Codec2, for example.

How do you "support a format"? AFAIK nothing will convince Apple to release music in a better (patent-free) codec, much less convince others to dump DRM.

I try to always buy hardware that supports FLAC (which is what everything new in my music collection is ripped/encoded in and what I always download from Bandcamp. Even CDBaby supports FLAC now, which is surprising, but must have been a demand for it).

When looking for a head unit in my car, I specifically made sure I had something that could play FLAC and oggs (and mp3s .. and aac .. my music collection is a mix of legacy formats).

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