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Real Pays For Legal MP3 Playback On Linux

Posted by timothy on from the stepping-up-to-the-plate dept.

kforeman (aka Kevin Foreman, GM of Helix RealNetworks, Inc.) writes "As part of the free RealPlayer 10 for Linux, Real has paid Thomson for a legal MP3 playback license and then includes it at no cost as part of the newly released RealPlayer 10. As I speak to people, many are under the false impression that MP3 playback patent and royalty rights are free, since there are open source implementations of MP3 playback available. Not true. Nonetheless, we are glad to do our part of making the Linux desktop a first class citizen by legally providing MP3 playback to users via our new RealPlayer."

1 of 618 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Distributions? by Leo+McGarry · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Try modifying OS X & selling it as "Leo McGarry's OS XI" & see how far you get. IP-holders restrict the rights to modify their IP.

    Oh, I get it! It's about the freedom to create new works based on existing works. It's about taking other people's stuff without their permission.

    Silly me. I thought we were talking about freedom. Turns out we're just talking about "gimme gimme, mine, mine."

    Thanks for clearing that up.

    Please share which restrictions are draconian.

    Here's one: "If you use this software library, you must apply the following software license to your program." As opposed to the commercial world, where you pay your money and receive the right to use the library as you see fit.

    Howzabout that?

    Others don't want to abolish IP-control--just to make sure that users have more rights than they do under conventional patent and copyright schemes.

    Then why do they include the poisonous "You must use this software license" clause? Why not just release the software with terms like everybody else does?

    You've got two choices, either of which is perfectly fine: Release the library into the public domain so anybody can use it for free, or release it only to select people under terms. Either of those is fine. This whole "We're releasing it to everybody, but only if you're willing to accept our terms, and by the way our terms require you to propagate our terms to others" thing is for the birds.