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[News] Flash Adds Support to Patents-free Codecs, Larry Horn the Patent Troll is Attacking

  • Subject: [News] Flash Adds Support to Patents-free Codecs, Larry Horn the Patent Troll is Attacking
  • From: Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 08:56:14 +0100
  • Followup-to: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • User-agent: KNode/4.4.2
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Flash embraces Google's open video codec

,----[ Quote ]
| Adobe has rolled out an HTML5 development 
| kit and announced that Flash will use 
| Google's freshly open sourced VP8 video 
| codec. The company wants you to know that 
| despite its tussle with Steve Jobs, it 
| very much believes in web standards.
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/19/adobe_html5_pack/

When Google is good ask why

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/when-google-is-good-ask-why/6538

Free Software Foundation statement on WebM and VP8  

http://www.fsf.org/news/free-software-foundation-statement-on-webm-and-vp8

Infrastructures, by xkcd - It says it all

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100521100651738

Google open video codec may face patent clash

,----[ Quote ]
| Asked it the MPEG-LA was creating a 
| patent pool license for VP8 and WebM, a 
| larger open source media standard that 
| includes VP8, Horn said:
| 
|     "Yes. In view of the marketplace 
|     uncertainties regarding patent 
|     licensing needs for such 
|     technologies, there have been 
|     expressions of interest from the 
|     market urging us to facilitate 
|     formation of licenses that would 
|     address the marketâs need for a 
|     convenient one-stop marketplace 
|     alternative to negotiating separate 
|     licenses with individual patent 
|     holders in accessing essential patent 
|     rights for VP8 as well as other 
|     codecs, and we are looking into the 
|     prospects of doing so."
| 
| An MPEG-LA spokesperson confirmed the 
| comments in an email to The Reg.
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/21/mpegla_mulls_patent_license_for_webm/

Report: MPEG LA planning patent pool for VP8

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Report-MPEG-LA-planning-patent-pool-for-VP8-1005252.html

WebM applauded but doubts persist

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/WebM-applauded-but-doubts-persist-1003849.html

Google's WebM Draws Praise, Critiques

http://www.pcworld.com/article/196791/googles_webm_draws_praise_critiques.html

Google's new Android is divine, GoogleTV no sure thing

,----[ Quote ]
| WebM will make the hippies among the 
| free-software movement (âsoftware patents 
| are like Nanking Massacre, only obviously 
| far worseâ) happy. Itâll allow developers 
| to create free and open-source streaming 
| apps and technologies without worrying 
| about the licensing expense; one can only 
| hope that Google has also ensured that 
| there won't be any risk that a patent 
| shark might come along and sue the 
| developers at a future date, but only 
| time will tell. Otherwise, WebM a non-
| entity.
`----

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/2299960,ihnatko-google-io-tv-android-052110.article

Oh myâ the hypocrisy around WebM / VP8

,----[ Quote ]
| For years we were told by Mozilla and the 
| like that they wonât ship MPEG codecs, 
| because they are patented. At the same 
| time they refuse to support the patent-
| free but high-quality Dirac codec 
| (developed by the BBC using techniques 
| whose patents expired â Xiph used the 
| same method when designing Vorbis).
| 
| Then one day Google shows up and releases 
| the sources to a codec thatâs merely a 
| derivate of the patented MPEG-4 AVC 
| Baseline codec. Suddenly all hell breaks 
| loose, Mozilla immediately supports the 
| new (possibly patented) codec.
| 
| [...]
| 
| I suspect that since Mozilla (and Opera 
| as well) gets many million dollars per 
| year from Google for being the default 
| search provider, questions about WebM are 
| not asked. I think Mozilla mainly wants 
| to please its pimp to get the money.
| 
| Luckily KDE is not part of the discussion 
| (I merely state my opinion as an 
| individual). Konqueror simply uses Phonon 
| to play back HTML5 videos, hence the 
| video can be in whatever format as long 
| as a compatible Phonon back-end is used â 
| WebM, Dirac, AVC,â
`----

http://kamikazow.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/oh-my-the-hypocrisy-around-webm-vp8/

WebM VP8 Video Codec Won't End Theora

,----[ Quote ]
| At Google's I/O conference, the search 
| giant this week released the VP8 video 
| codec as open source and launched the 
| WebM project for online video. The effort 
| has already been embraced by multiple 
| browser vendors. 
`----

http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/video/article.php/3883451

WebM

,----[ Quote ]
| I wonder whether Hollywood will see it is 
| in their best interests to use an open 
| format for video? If not, Youtube may 
| pass them by. Youtube is already the 
| largest source of video on the planet. 
| Who needs Hollywood if they do not want 
| to be open with us? According to 
| Wikipedia, âIt is estimated that 24 hours 
| of new videos are uploaded to the site 
| every minute, and that around three 
| quarters of the material comes from 
| outside the United States.â
`----

http://pogson.6k.ca/2010/05/20/webm/

Is Google's WebM a game-changer or a big mess?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/is-googles-webm-a-game-changer-or-a-big-mess/2129

Googleâs âRoyalty-Freeâ WebM Video May Not Be Royalty-Free For Long

,----[ Quote ]
| The announcement of Googleâs new WebM 
| video format and release of the VP8 video 
| codec as an open standard have been 
| hailed by some as the move that will free 
| the Web from the proprietary H.264 codec 
| widely used for online video today and 
| favored by Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft 
| (MSFT).
| 
| [...]
| 
| Indeed, Larry Horn, CEO of MPEG LA, the 
| consortium that controls the AVC/H.264 
| video standard, tells me that the group 
| is already looking at creating a patent 
| pool license for VP8. Hereâs an excerpt 
| from my email exchange with him:
| 
|     JP: Let me ask you this: Are you 
|     creating a patent pool license for 
|     VP8 and WebM? Have you been 
|     approached about creating one?
| 
|     Larry Horn: Yes, in view of the 
|     marketplace uncertainties regarding 
|     patent licensing needs for such 
|     technologies, there have been 
|     expressions of interest from the 
|     market urging us to facilitate 
|     formation of licenses that would 
|     address the marketâs need for a 
|     convenient one-stop marketplace 
|     alternative to negotiating separate 
|     licenses with individual patent 
|     holders in accessing essential patent 
|     rights for VP8 as well as other 
|     codecs, and we are looking into the 
|     prospects of doing so.
`----

http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100520/googles-royalty-free-webm-video-may-not-be-royalty-free-for-long/

Linux Distros and the Codec Conundrum

,----[ Quote ]
| Codecs have been the topic of much heated 
| conversation on the Linux blogs of late, 
| thanks largely to all the recent 
| controversy surrounding H.264.
`----

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/70035.html?wlc=1274437690

Steve Jobs email dismisses VP8 video codec

,----[ Quote ]
| Apple boss Steve Jobs has dismissed 
| Google's much-trumpeted open source video 
| codec by referring to a technical 
| analysis written by a third-year college 
| student.
| 
| According to Apple Insider, the 
| Messaianic chief Macolyte was asked what 
| he thought of the VP8 WebM video in an 
| email, to which Steve simply replied with 
| a link to a posting on Jason Garret-
| Glaser's Diary Of An x264 Developer blog.
| 
| From what we can tell, what Jason (aka 
| Dark Shikari) doesn't know about video 
| decoding probably isn't worth knowing, 
| and he pretty roundly castigates the VP8 
| code for being poorly doucumented, badly 
| written, slow and buggy. He also 
| questions whether the codec is really 
| open source and suggests that the patent 
| trolls are currently waiting to pounce as 
| soon as the standard gets a foothold. 
| "VP8 copies way too much from H.264 for 
| anyone sane to be comfortable with it, no 
| matter whose word is behind the claim of 
| being patent-free," said Glaser.
`----

http://www.thinq.co.uk/news/2010/5/21/steve-jobs-email-dismisses-vp8-video-codec/


Recent:

Growth Market in Theora FUD

,----[ Quote ]
| A blogger named Hugo Roy posted a piece
| called An Open Letter to Steve Jobs in
| which he picked on Steve a bit about the
| openness of H.264. A few valid points were
| made, but most interestingly, Hugo then
| posted an email response he says came from
| Steve himself, which included the following
| inflammatory quote:
|
|     A patent pool is being assembled to go
|     after Theora and other âopen sourceâ
|     codecs now. Unfortunately, just because
|     something is open source, it doesnât
|     mean or guarantee that it doesnât
|     infringe on others patents.
|
| If this is true, it is bad news for Theora
| indeed. Can the Mozilla foundation afford
| to hang a giant "Kick Me" sign on the next
| version of Firefox? Can they afford to
| litigate against even a single patent
| lawsuit, much less this consortium Steve is
| quoted as knowing of?
`----

http://www.drdobbs.com/blog/archives/2010/05/growth_market_i.html;jsessionid=FDOGHWWIL331FQE1GHPCKHWATMY32JVN


Microsoft defends its move to H.264

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1604070/microsoft-defends-h-264


Canonical licenses H.264 â Theora out for the count? [Updated]

,----[ Quote ]
| Canonical are currently the only Linux
| company to license H.264/AVC, the patented
| non-free technology used to compress video
| and favoured by companies such as Apple &
| Microsoft for HTML5 Video.
|
| Neither RedHat, makers of Fedora, or
| Novell, makers of Suse, appear on the list
| of over 800 licensee's.
|
| Whatâs interesting is that the rival, if
| you will, to H.264 is the free and open
| codec Ogg Theroa which one would naturally
| assume would be the favoured choice for a
| Linux distributionâs parent to support.
`----

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/05/canonical-licenses-h264.html


Why Is MPEG-LA Getting Into The Patent Trolling Game?

,----[ Quote ]
| Joe Mullin has a great blog post, looking
| in detail at MobileMedia, a recently
| launched "company" that fits all the
| traditional characteristics of a "patent
| troll" or "non-practicing entity" (if you'd
| prefer). It doesn't appear to do anything
| but hold patents, demand licensing fees and
| sue. So what's so interesting about this
| one? Well, it's a subsidiary of MPEG-LA,
| the company that manages some important
| digital video standards, and manages the
| patent pools related to them -- and both
| companies have the same CEO.
|
| [...]
|
| What I find interesting, of course, is that
| many patent system folks have said that
| patent pools are the "answer" to issues
| like non-practicing entities filing crazy
| lawsuits. And yet, here we have an example
| of one of the major patent pooling
| administrators apparently deciding it's
| more lucrative to get into the other side
| of the business instead...
|
| In the meantime, while all this has been
| going on, it's worth noting that Steve Jobs
| -- one of the targets in this lawsuit --
| has apparently been telling people that
| MPEG-LA is getting ready to sue open video
| codecs, such as Theora, for patent
| infringement. Of course, such threats have
| been made before and never carried out --
| but if MPEG-LA now thinks that suing for
| patent infringement (rather than just
| alerting the patent holders to possible
| infringement) is the way to go these days,
| perhaps the lawsuits above were an opening
| salvo.
`----

http://techdirt.com/articles/20100430/0232599255.shtml
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