Patent-free software where it makes sense

[Alex Puchades <alex94puchades@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi, my name is Alex and I've been a Fedora user for a long time. Also, I'm quite new to this list. I know a lot of people (myself included) that agree with Fedora not integrating propietary software into the system, as Ubuntu does in many different ways, especially in the installer. To put things clear, I'd never advocate for that.

However, there's one issue I think deserves a little more consideration. There is another kind of software that is perfectly fine free software but is also excluded from a default Fedora install. That is, patent encumbered software. As you know, there are some patents that are not valid outside USA (ie: subpixel rendering, MP3). That software is provided in third-party repositories like RPMFusion in the form of "-freetype" packages.

The lack-by-default of these packages presents a clear usability issue for non-quite-that-technical users and it greatly hurts the user experience for everyone. So, is there any way that Fedora could enforce this patent-free position where it makes sense (the USA), but includes it (or at least gives the user the option at installation time) if allowed by local laws?

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Álex Puchades

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