Bonum Certa Men Certa

MPEG-LA Codecs and Microsoft Racketeering Challenge the Redistributability of Linux

Eye of the beholder



Summary: The zero-cost advantage of Android is harmed by the advancement of software patents courtesy of patent aggressors like Microsoft and the patent troll-led MPEG-LA

THE OIN grows rapidly, but its expansion as of late included more controversial companies whose policies are in conflict with Free software but not with OIN's perspective. Here is Fluendo joining:



Fluendo, the leading multimedia software development company and GStreamer expert, today announced its decision to join OIN as a licensee and to adhere to its obligations under the OIN licensing agreement.

Being an active part in the development of multimedia software based on open source technologies, and also as one of the most important contributors to GStreamer, the de-facto open source multimedia framework for Unix/Linux operating systems, Fluendo decided to join Open Source Network’s efforts to create a supportive ecosystem that ensures the growth and adoption of Linux.


GStreamer could become obsolete if dependence on MPEG-LA was to be ceased [1, 2, 3]. We are slowly getting there as more companies (including Google) override or circumvent MPEG-LA, which is headed by a patent troll [1, 2, 3, 4]. OIN may still be necessary as a temporary fallback.

Fluendo's relationship with software patents makes its place at the OIN rather unique and according to the GPL violations guru, there is already an Android patent fee injection:

It is always surprising what kind of things the industry is coming up with ;)

Here at ELCE, ST-Ericsson has just presented how they replaced OpenCore with gstreamer as the supplier/provider of multimedia encoding/decoding to the Android software stack.

This is definitely an interesting technical solution - probably one that makes sense if you have existing gstreamer modules/drivers.


These companies are damaging the zero cost of Free software-based platforms and this cost issue is often an essential ingredient of redistribution rights (which the GPL depends on, although it depends what the payments are made for). But by far the biggest elephant in this room is Microsoft, which is still trying to claim other people's code to be its own, using dubious and/or unnamed software patents. In Techrights -- under the "Boycott Novell" banner -- we have warned about this since 2006 when Novell opened those floodgates after it had voluntarily approached Microsoft with its warchest of software patents.

Microsoft to charge royalty fees to prevent Acer, Asustek from using Android in netbooks, say Taiwan makers



Microsoft plans to impose royalty fees on Taiwan-based vendors of Android handsets for using its patents in e-mail, multimedia and other functions, with Acer and Asustek Computer being targets in an actual attempt to prevent the two vendors from adopting Android and Chrome OS for their netbook and tablet PCs, according to Taiwan-based makers.


Microsoft already uses that as FUD at the very least. This type of racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] has led Red Hat's Jan Wildeboer to saying quite provocatively: "Microsoft - from SW company to Patent Troll?"

Technically, Microsoft will become a patent troll when it just kills Vista Phony 7 [sic] like it killed "KIN". Then, at least in the mobile space (not as a whole), Microsoft would be seen as non-practising entity.

Our reader David, who hopes to spread freedom in his country by developing Free software (GNU Telephony), wrote yesterday: "Some say Microsoft doesn't innovate. In fact Microsoft has innovated plagiarism by patenting other people's ideas."

"This amounts to strong admission by Microsoft they can no longer compete on product, quality or service," writes Georg Greve in response to the report above. Greve is the founder of the FSFE (Free Software Foundation Europe) and his successor, Karsten Gerloff, writes:

welfare-to-work for lawyers?


Georg Greve has told me about the FSFE's work to stop software patents: "You'll find some information on FSFE's home page ... Much work in early years was done through FFII though."

Yes, the FFII is still doing a fantastic job and it is the main force in Europe that battles against software patents and thus protects both proprietary and freedom-respecting software makers in Europe. In general, software patents hurt software developers, not just Free/libre open source software developers.

Mobbyists still lobby for software patents over at Identi.ca, only to be smacked down by Georg Greve and others who are at least partly affiliated with the FSFE (which the mobbyist paid to be seen as associated with). As Greve puts it, "Software patenting fails the economic criteria for patenting defined by WIPO. So a economic rationale, not pro-monopoly dogma." This whole discussion over there is amusing and the side which favours software patents comes from a company that fed Acacia with software patents. It is worse than what Samsung has been doing. No wonder quite a few people in Identi.ca have publicly and vocally blocked this mobbyist, whom they call "a troll".

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
 
Links 01/07/2025: "Independence Day in Taiwan", Bounties on Software Patents
Links for the day
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day
EPO Presentation Bemoans Misuse of Slop in Decision-Making on Patents and in Classification (Which is Likely Illegal Too)
We habitually mention failed use cases of LLMs on the Web
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Confirmed, "XBox Hardware Is Dead"
It's possible that over 20% of the staff will be laid off
Links 30/06/2025: Kyrgyzstan vs Media Freedom, Dalai Lama Succession
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: Backend Programs in Gemini and Dynamic Content Without The Scripting
Links for the day
Links 30/06/2025: Zuckerberg’s Tax-Evading Scheme Harms Kids, US Copyright Office Lacks Leadership
Links for the day
Microsoft Isn't Laying Off Tens of Thousands to 'Invest' in Slop ('Hey Hi'), It's Laying Off Tens of Thousands Because It's Running Out of Money (and Willing Lenders)
the layoffs are a sign of the business failing, not "hey hi" (whatever that is) replacing staff
Intel Lays Off 20% of Its Workforce, Microsoft is Doing the Same This Year
Like a yoyo, whatever goes up will come back down
Microsoft XBox Layoffs: Almost 2,000 Layoffs Became "Over 2,000"? (Over 20% of the Staff)
over 20% of staff will be let go, not counting staff that leaves voluntarily
GNU/Linux Rises to New Highs in Angola, Africa in General is Abandoning Windows
Western media barely covers Microsoft layoffs in Africa, but in recent years Microsoft culled the workforce and even shut down entire operations
Summer Plans in Techrights and Elsewhere
massive layoffs at Microsoft
Destination Geminispace (in the Age of LLM Slop and Slop Images That Infest the Web and Social Control Media)
Geminispace isn't vast, but at least it is - on average - a lot "cleaner"
GNU/Linux Growing in Sierra Leone This Year
Based on what statCounter is seeing, this year there are more and more people there who adopt GNU/Linux
Serial Sloppers Gonna Slop
More sites out there ought to call out the cheaters
Quartz (qz.com) is Spam and a Slopfarm
It used to be OK. Then they fired the staff.
Links 30/06/2025: US Economic Woes, Extreme Heat
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 29, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 29, 2025
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: "The AI Hype" and New AuraGem Ask
Links for the day
Our Desktops Are Not Your Experiments, X is Not an Experiment
Breaking what already worked
Microsoft's Big Lies Regarding This Week's Mass Layoffs Have Already Begun (and They're Already Being Spread by Slopfarms)
Microsoft is the "market leader" in slop
Explaining the Full Story of SLAPPs From Microsoft Staff
For every action there is a reaction, for every attack there will be proportionate consequences
The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part III: IRS and Status of OSI
"They lied to the US IRS and there’s a paper trail"
IBM Red Hat's Dogmatic Fanaticism Under a Thin Veil of "Modernism"
IBM now has the audacity to paint people who don't agree as "nazis"
Microsoft's Share in Guatemala Fell From 97% to 14%
Eventually Microsoft will get stuck in a loop of layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs
They Made Technology Scary and Taught Us That It's Innocent, Friendly, Even "Social"
Rejection of all this "apps" and "gadgets" and "Smart" (whatever that means!) status quo isn't a rejection of society
The Media is Under Attacks Partly Because There's Little Other (Remaining) Press to Speak in Its Defence
The biggest danger here is that when there's very little press or no "opposition media" left it becomes even easier to crush critics because there aren't many people left to speak about the matter
If Your Web Site is Run by Bots, Eventually Nobody Will 'Read' It Except Bots (People Don't Want to Read Slop)
Eventually people learn from mistakes
Links 29/06/2025: Microsoft Releases False/Fake Benchmarks, "Google Wants You to Watch Ads or Take Surveys to Read Articles"
Links for the day
Links 29/06/2025: Data Breaches and Online Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/06/2025: "The Price Of Eggs" and Gemini 3D Tic Tac Toe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 28, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, June 28, 2025