Bonum Certa Men Certa

Lobbyists From Microsoft, Apple, and Nokia Are Backing Potential Patent Lawsuit Against Google/WebM

Patent stooges



Summary: The three main boosters of MPEG-LA get closer together today as preparations are seemingly made to make the World Wide Web's multimedia nonfree

TECHRIGHTS has been researching the Nokia deal all day today and there is a detailed post under the covers (still in preparation for increased breadth and precision). Separate from all that hoi polloi we have an important subject to discuss which involves not only Microsoft and Nokia. Apple plays a considerable role in it. It's to do with MPEG-LA, the patent troll-run firm which is trying to tax all video on-line and off-line. "Intellectual property is the next software," Nathan Myhrvold once said. He is Microsoft's patent troll and his idea of software is clearly incompatible with Free/open source software. This is exactly why companies like Microsoft have been grooming patent firms and destroying (or taking over) real technology firms for a very long time. Basically, if software is always encumbered by patents, then it can never be freely distributed. This makes new laws a potential attack vector by which to defeat free competition very cheaply. Sadly enough, Nokia too is part of this cartel, which happened to defend MPEG-LA. The person who did this on behalf of Nokia had also worked for Microsoft (the apple falls not so far from the tree). In our post about Nokia we'll expand on that a little. There are rumours that Nokia's Elop might give Microsoft patents to attack Android with, in due time. It's all that Microsoft has got left now that Windows -- the crucial common carrier -- loses quite rapidly.



“It's all that Microsoft has got left now that Windows -- the crucial common carrier -- loses quite rapidly.”According to Jamie Love, as foreseen, "Gary Locke, the US Secretary of Commerce (and former Microsoft lobbyist), tours India promoting higher IPR protection"; also see this older page from Jamie, as Locke is also close to the Gates Foundation with all its monopolies and patents lust/lobbying. Foundations such as Bill's are well understood by Jamie, who does a good job tracking Microsoft lobbyists and Gates' purchase of the media (to distort coverage about this foundation).

As promised at the start, here is how the story of Apple, Nokia, and Microsoft connects quite clearly. These are the biggest pushers out there for MPEG-LA (based on their actions) and Slashdot -- among other sources -- informs that MPEG-LA prepares for extortion/lawsuit (two side of the same coin) against free multimedia codecs:

Confirming speculation from last year, an anonymous reader tips news that MPEG LA has posted a request for information about establishing a patent pool for the VP8 video codec.


Here is the original source:

MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent licenses, announces a call for patents essential to the VP8 video codec specification used to deliver video images. The VP8 video codec is defined by the WebM Project at http://www.webmproject.org.

In order to participate in the creation of, and determine licensing terms for, a joint VP8 patent license, any party that believes it has patents that are essential to the VP8 video codec specification is invited to submit them for a determination of their essentiality by MPEG LA’s patent evaluators. At least one essential patent is necessary to participate in the process, and initial submissions should be made by March 18, 2011. Although only issued patents will be included in the license, in order to participate in the license development process, patent applications with claims that their owners believe are essential to the specification and likely to issue in a patent also may be submitted. Further information, along with terms and procedures governing patent submissions, can be found at http://www.mpegla.com/main/pid/vp8/default.aspx.


Nokia and Apple previously lobbied for MPEG-LA's patent traps to stay valid in HTML5. That was a long time ago and a lot of backlash ensued. Nokia and Apple got singled out and Microsoft does the same these days. Now that Nokia is almost a part of Microsoft, it is a lot easier to highlight the source of the problem and ways of addressing it. This discussion will carry on in a future post.

Recent Techrights' Posts

New XBox Leaks Probably Serve to Confirm XBox's Collapse (Many More Layoffs)
It's very much consistent with what many other sites have reported lately
 
Links 10/10/2025: Putin Admits Russia Downed Azerbaijan Airlines Jet, More New Heat Records
Links for the day
Noteworthy Claim That IBM is Firing a Lot of Lawyers This Week (RAs in the Legal Department)
A lot of what they do is patent 'trolling' or lawyering up against their own staff (e.g. HR disputes)
Links 10/10/2025: US Judge Bars Attacks by ICE On Journalists and Protesters; “We Took The Freedom of Speech Away” Says the President
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers, Google News Gifting Slopfarms, and Fake News/Plagiarism About "Linux"
Google itself is a slop pusher these days
Qualcomm, the New Owner of Arduino, Blasted for Its Software Patents Tax on 'Smartphones'
A lot of Qualcomm's patents are on software. We wrote about this in prior years.
XBox Layoffs Rumours, Downtime, and Criticism From XBox Co-Founder
"everyone is ditching the xbox."
Links 10/10/2025: Honoring The Legacy Of Robert Murray-Smith, Many Articles on the Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: October Gothic and Reading Middle Earth Role Playing; C and Ada
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 09, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 09, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Farewell to Jane Goodall, California Bans Algorithmic Price-Fixing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Lost Wages and a Saga Of Continuing To Use Palm PDAs
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Talk in Helsinki is Done. Tomorrow Göteborg.
There are scarce details in Finnish about Dr. Stallman's talk
The Slop Song
The train wreck marches on
LLM Slop/Advanced Plagiarism Flooding the Zone With Capital That Does Not Exist
Many publishers out there still participate in this bubble instead of calling it what it is
Links 09/10/2025: Sacked Microsoft Workers Make "Sackbird", IBM Taps CockroachDB for PostgreSQL
Links for the day
"Happy Hacking Day" Richard Stallman Talk This Afternoon (From 14:00 to 16:00) at Haaga-Helia University in Pasila
Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 08, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Impact of Microsoft Layoffs, More Data Breaches
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Autumn Blues and C IRC Bot
Links for the day
Slopwatch Appreciated by Real Authors of GNU/Linux Articles
We do try to keep on top of those things
Upgraded R.R.R.R.R.R. Today
The Web of 2025 is full of garbage, not limited to slopfarms
Freedom From Proprietary Prisons
Forking always an option
IBM's Watson Died in 1956, Now Watson Dies Again
IBM is becoming just a reseller of GAFAM and other stuff
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, UbuntuPIT, and Google News
We've also just noticed more slop from UbuntuPIT
Microsoft Says That Constant Mass Layoffs Are Success, the Media Isn't Buying This Microsoft Narrative Anymore
If people in the media feel an obligation to repeat whatever lies Microsoft tells, what point will there be to the media?
Links 08/10/2025: "Mali Puts Free Speech on Trial" And Apple Enforces Dictatorship
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: ‘Death to Spotify’ and Law to Ban Loud Commercials on Streaming (Dis)Services
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Real Innovation and Nina.chat is Dead
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Y2K38 Bug is a Vulnerability, Chat Control in Europe a Threat
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows is No Longer an Operating System, It's Surveillance Project
Why is this even legal to preload on PCs outside the US?
How and Why Once-Legitimate Sites Turn Into Slopfarms
Many sites will go offline and many social control networks will shut down once they realise or even openly admit they spend money and time gardening a bunch of bots and slop
UbuntuPIT Became a Slopfarm and Gnoppix Tarnishes Its Own Brand With Slop
It fits all the characteristics of mildly-edited (if at all) slop
Slopwatch: Linux Journal and Other Slopfarms
GAFAM needs to go the way of the dodo
Gemini Links 08/10/2025: "Seek Seek Revolution" and Gradient Backgrounds
Links for the day
Qualcomm Arduino Takes Aim at Raspberry Pi
Qualcomm is a Microsoft partner
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 07, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Stagnation of the Economy and What Free Software Can (or Could) Do For It
If your economic model is based on a pyramid of lies, it won't last very long
Social Control Media is Sinking
it would rightly seem like the era of centralised "social" sites (they're not social, they're about controlling the users) is ending, not overnight but gradually