[whatwg] Codecs (was Re: Apple Proposal for Timed Media Elements)

[Gareth Hay]

As has been said, this isn't a legal list.

At best, we can only conclude that this is a very grey area  
throughout different regions of the world, and as such, is not only  
out with the scope of this list, but possibly of the spec itself.

Unless legal advice can be sought from all potential markets, I think  
we are all arguing in vein and should conclude to distance ourselves  
from including this type of thing in  the spec.

On 23 Mar 2007, at 09:32, Maik Merten wrote:

> Gareth Hay schrieb:
>> Not in the EU, no such thing as a software patent.
>
> To my knowledge the MPEG patents are *not* software patents but are  
> what
> I know as "Verfahrenspatente" (crudely translated that would be  
> "Method
> patents" - anyone knowning the correct term?). Those patents are  
> valid here.
>
>

> However, no matter what kinds of patents they are: The MPEG-LA  
> collects
> money from european companies.

Sadly, the payment doesn't indicate anything, other than these  
companies *think* they need to make them.
Maybe they do, maybe they don't...