Hi, > It appears Fluendo got redistribution rights for binaries, not for > source code - the relevant passage is "If you are living in a country > where the mp3 patents don't apply you can of course use the source code". Anyone is free to distribute this source code. There is nothing illegal about offering source code available for download, even if it implements concepts covered by patents. In fact, you can easily download official reference code for a wide range of codecs from the respective group's sites. Red Hat can sign a redistribution contract with Fluendo that allows them to also rebuild this source code into binaries to which Fluendo's patent license applies. So Fedora can include the .src.rpm for this plug-in (it's MIT, just like any other piece of MIT code), and they can include the binary .rpm built from it (if they sign this contract). The only question that matters, if I understand correctly, from Red Hat's point of view is: does it matter that if one of our users rebuilds this .src.rpm, he ends up with a binary .rpm that, while exactly the same as the one built by Red Hat, does not automatically come with a patent license - because it is not transferable from Red Hat to said user ? This is a fairly unique situation, and I'm sure it will need to be examined in more detail by lawyers and others. But I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it as impossible to ship :) Also keep the following in mind; the MIT license was specifically chosen because it contains no specific language about patents, like the GPL does. You will find that all other mp3 decoding projects have chosen the GPL. Some of them did so because they know the GPL presents problems when it comes to patents, thus providing incentive to people who want to use their software to pay for an alternate license. This is one of the ways one can make money off of writing GPL software :) Thomas Dave/Dina : future TV today ! - http://www.davedina.org/ <-*- thomas (dot) apestaart (dot) org -*-> nobody's interested in something you didn't do <-*- thomas (at) apestaart (dot) org -*-> URGent, best radio on the net - 24/7 ! - http://urgent.fm/ -- fedora-devel-list mailing list fedora-devel-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list
