Tuesday, September 3, 2002

Whither MP3? -- 8:49 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Last week, a small firestorm started when it was noticed that the MP3 licensing terms on Thompson multimedia's site had changed. They removed a clause that specifically allowed "freely distributable software" to use the MP3 format without paying a license fee. Fear rapidly spread as to what this might mean for open-source projects like XMMS. The Register got comments from a Thompson exec indicating that the old policy remains in effect and they will not charge freely distributable software even if it is no longer explicitly stated. As a matter of fact, he even blamed the creators of Ogg Vorbis for creating the bruhaha.

One of the authors of Ogg has responded to The Register, saying they had no part in starting the controversy. I will agree with him on this, if it's not explicitly stated in the license, you'd better believe that they are at least keeping the option open of charging. I wish Thompson would make what they write agree with what they say.

The Master comments: I'm sure a pack of lawyers at Thompson made this change explicitly so they could charge enormous fees at some later date to all software players regardless of make, model, or payment schedule. Gotta love lawyers. Makes me want to load them all in a rocket and shoot them into the sun.

News for 09/03/2002

The Haus is powered by:

All original information on this website is copyright © TheHaus.Net, 1999-2005. The use of original images, text, and/or code from this website without expressed written consent is prohibited. The authors of this site cannot be held responsible for any damage, real or imagined, which comes from the use of information presented on this site. All trademarks used are the properties of their respective owners. This site is not to be used as a floatation device (but if you try, I want a video tape of it).