Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

VLC & European Patents

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the going-to-get-worse-before-it-gets-better dept.

CaptScarlet22 writes " VideoLAN is seriously threatened by software patents due to the numerous patented techniques it implements and uses. Also threatened are the many libraries and projects which VLC is built upon, like FFmpeg, and the other fellow Free And Open Source software multimedia players, which include MPlayer, xine, Freevo, MythTV, gstreamer."

5 of 421 comments (clear)

  1. This is exactly why... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You should only use MS media player. Then you wont run into these problems.

    1. Re:This is exactly why... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Please stop posting on Slashdot, Mister Balmer. You have a company to run.

  2. Does This mean .. by macaulay805 · · Score: 2, Funny

    OSS Developers will have to start migrating to the US to develop free software????

  3. Re:what about MS patents? by dyfet · · Score: 4, Funny
    You mean things like the infamous "@todo" patent on the use of comments in source code to document future todo items??! Yes, they actually received a patent on that! And I received a tatoo in a special place for that, so they can go and try to license my you know what :).

  4. Re:a huge step backwards by rangek · · Score: 2, Funny
    it is semi odd that Europe is anti media players in Windows, and then they are threatening to slay free media players. Seams like a double standard.

    Maybe they don't like digital multimedia in Europe so they want no media players available at all. It seems like that is what they are going to wind up with.