On Tue, 2007-03-27 at 18:03 +0100, Martin Michlmayr wrote:
> * Tom spot Callaway <tcallawa@xxxxxxxxxx> [2007-03-27 10:03]:
> > Debian interprets free/non-free in the FSF sense of the term, not in
> > a legal sense.
>
> Debian used to have a "non-US" repository, but that was mainly for
> crypto software before the crypto export laws got relaxed. Sometimes
> people ask for the re-introduction of non-US to allow software that is
> not allowed in the US, but there are no plans to do this since the
> problem is not just with US law.
>
> Unlike Tom asserted, Debian isn't willing to break US law. For
> example, we don't distribute video encoding software. (*) Regarding
> patents, the stand is basically that software with patents is okay as
> long the patents are not actively enforced.
>
> ("free" is actually called "main")
>
> (*) Yes, MP3 playback software is included. I'm not quite sure why
> but possibly there's simply a different interpretation of the status
> of playback software.
Its patented. The patents are being actively enforced (by multiple
parties):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatel-Lucent_v._Microsoft
Also, I'm pretty sure that Debian is shipping DVD playback code, which
violates the DMCA.
~spot
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