Codec Licenses

When I posted my comments on Linux, I was a bit concerned because I was admitting to using proprietary codecs to watch videos while running linux. I am hyper sensitive to following the law even in small matters such as this. I sent some time trying to search for an answer and/or solution. This eventually led me to the MPEG Licensing Authority (www.mpegla.com or www.mpegla.org). Not finding the answers I wanted I sent them an e-mail asking them what I needed to do to make sure I was not violating the law. Their response was quick and easily understood:

For your background, MPEG LA’s business is to offer Patent Portfolio Licenses as a convenient way to obtain coverage under patents from multiple patent owners in a single license as an alternative to negotiating licenses directly with each of them. For example, our MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License provides coverage under more than 800 patents from 24 patent owners.

As a general matter, our Licenses provide coverage for the end product, and the party that offers the end product to the end user is responsible for paying the royalty. Therefore, in the normal course, the provider of the codec you are using to view video would be responsible for paying the royalty.

Although our Licenses do not directly provide coverage for an end user and anyone in the product chain may be held responsible for an unlicensed product, a royalty paid for an end product by the end product supplier would render the product licensed in the hands of the end user. Therefore, an end user such as you would not normally pay a royalty to MPEG LA for using a decoder to view video.

With that said, we do encourage all users to assure that they choose products from licensed suppliers and for that purpose we maintain lists of Licensees to each of our Licenses on our website. For example, the list of Licensees to our MPEG-2 License may be found here: http://www.mpegla.com/m2/m2-licensees.cfm.

It appears that their opinion on how to stay legal is to purchase software that does business with them and pays the license fee to them. I'm using Totem and Mplayer and I did not see them listed on the MPEG LA website list of licensed players probably because they are distributed free.

I'm going to continue using linex and the codecs, but I would feel more comfortable if I could pay someone $5 for the codecs and have a license to use them, but again, I am hyper sensitive about staying on the legit side of the law.

Linux

My first post will have nothing to do with legal matters or law enforcement. I have dual booted my laptop with Windows XP and Linux. I have been running OpenSuse the free version of Novell Suse Enterprise Linux (10.2). Since I loaded Suse, it has become my primary operating system. It did take a bit of work to get it installed because I installed the updates during the instillation. I am a linux newbie, but I got the wireless card working using ndiswrapper (the wireless card is made for Windows and there is no linux driver). I also installed my Nvidia drivers, followed by the codecs that allow me to watch movies, and then mplayer so I can watch video on cnn.com and cycling.tv.

OpenSuse comes with compiz built in so it has fancy 3d effects. I have been using the multiple desktops when I search the web and have various documents open at the same time. Installing OpenSuse was more difficult than Ubuntu 6.10, but I like OpenSuse more. I am using the gnome desktop mostly because that is what I was used to with Ubuntu. I also loaded Opera (a free web browser) because I find that Firefox flakes out at times.

Overall, I think that Windows is in trouble. OpenSuse comes with AppArmor built in. This is a firewall. I went to a few security sites and it showed I had no open ports. OpenOffice Writer and OpenCalc seem to work well, but I also use the Google Spreadsheet because my needs are rather basic and collaboration is often more important. The games are rather limited, but I don't game much. The wireless connection with Network Manager (built in) is great. I can see all the available wireless networks with one click. The wireless card actually connects to my usual networks faster than it does in Windows. Beagle as a desktop search engine seems to work well, but I haven't thoroughly tested it.

The down sides are some of the tools I use. I use Google Desktop to search for files on my hard drive. I have many files from work and from school that I use Google to find for me. Normally, I can find them on my own because I remember the folder I saved it in, but I do like desktop search. Beagle seems to work well, but the jury is still out. I have also been using iTunes because it was my only form of TV while I was in school. I built up a fairly large iTunes library. I know that CrossOver office may be an option, but I can just boot into Windows if I want to use iTunes. iTunes has been the only reason I use Windows for the past two weeks.

If I ran a business (or a government entity) I would consider moving to Suse.