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'Free' H.264 a Precursor To WebM Patent War?
webmink writes "The MPEG LA seem unwilling to explain why they have extended their 'free' H.264 streaming video policy now. This article unpacks the history of MPEG LA and then suggests the obvious — it's all because of WebM — and the worrying — maybe it's preparing the ground for opening a third front in the patent war against Google."
If you want a standard to be reliably implemented in a wide range of systems, you have to take out the "implementation" part of the equation.
That's why every single DVD player or network router or TV is exactly the same.
Oh wait.
Actually real standards are all about defining the STANDARD that implementations have to follow, sometimes providing a reference implementation to ensure a base level of quality but in no way forcing people to use that. Does the fact that SMTP is a standard mean that everyone uses the same mail server? Of course not!
A library is not a standard. A standard is what you can use to build a library.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The use (encoding and decoding) of a licensed technology is not the same as modifying a patented technology. Google licensed the use of h264 for Youtube and Chrome. Assuming that MPEG-LA is correct about patent infringement in WebM, than Google's licensing over the use of h264 would not apply, because their original license does not allow for modifications or derived work. The fact that Mozilla and Opera use WebM is irrelevant. The alleged problem here is that WebM is potentially an unlicensed modification of patented technology. MPEG-LA is so sure of it that they are already working on a specific licensing for WebM: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/05/21/133249/MPEG-LA-Considering-Patent-Pool-For-VP8WebM
Obviously it remain to be proven that WebM really is derived work. If yes, it's a major blow for Google (with unpleasent effects for Opera and Mozilla as well). If not, obviously this is a major win for Google, WebM and open formats in general.
By the way, in essence this is the same issue Google is facing with Oracle's Java lawsuit (i.e. derived, unlicensed work of a non compatible version of java).
I can't wait to see what happens.