As I understand it, it's only the end-users of encoders (not the writers or distributors) who are subject to the licensing fee. That said, Pandora is in the Netherlands, so couldn't the issue be skirted by making the package non-US/non-free, and pointing the end user towards docs which explain the situation to them, should the choose to download and use it?
In the end, it looks to me like it's the end user's responsibility here, not the distributor, and I'd hate to see a package not make it in because The Debian Project is going to assume that their US and German users are unwilling to read a disclaimer and act accordingly. ... Adam -----Original Message----- From: Josip Rodin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2001 8:46 AM To: Adam Conrad Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'Mark Purcell' Subject: Re: Bug#90091: ITP: lame - mp3 encoder On Sun, Mar 18, 2001 at 08:20:53AM -0700, Adam Conrad wrote: > > > However, personal and commercial use of compiled versions of LAME (or any > > > other mp3 encoder) requires a patent license in some countries. > > > > > > Which qualifies for non-free in Debian as the patent is only approved in > > > Germany and USA. > > > > > > Personal and commercial use of compiled versions of LAME (or any other mp3 > > > encoder) requires a patent license in some countries. > > > > So, you're saying we can actually distribute the sources and binaries, but > > once someone tries to use it, they need to arrange it with the patent > > holder? Somehow I don't think that will work. :| > > Not all people will have to apply for a patent license to use it, only > certain people. That should qualify it for non-free, in much the same way > ssh2 is in non-free because commercial users need to license it. With ssh2, the redistribution is explicitely allowed by the license, as long as you're not doing it for profit, which kinda works for Debian. Patents on ssh2 don't play a major role, it seems. But with lame, the redistribution is encumbered by patents, which is worrisome. Putting this in any part of Debian means making every one of our American and German mirrors redistribute it, and they would explicitely need a license to do that. That's my understanding, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong :) -- Digital Electronic Being Intended for Assassination and Nullification
