Here's why: he's not just publishing details from the patent; he's publishing source code to a competing application that they think works too similarly to theirs.
I agree that it sucks, but they have to defend their patent or risk losing it.
This is one of those urban myths like alligators in the toilet. MP3 is just a technology and the technology itself never did anything wrong! There are lots of legal MP3s from great artists on many, many online sites. The problem is that some people use MP3 to take one copy of an album and make that copy available on the Internet for hundreds of thousands of people. That's not fair. If you choose to take your own CDs and make copies for yourself on your computer or portable music player, that's great. It's your music and we want you to enjoy it at home, at work, in the car and on the jogging trail. But the fact that technology exists to enable unlimited Internet distribution of music copies doesn't make it right. (emphasis mine)
Slashdot Mirror
Okay, looks like my last phrase was mistaken, but my point stands that he posted code to a competing product and not just information from the patent.
Here's why: he's not just publishing details from the patent; he's publishing source code to a competing application that they think works too similarly to theirs. I agree that it sucks, but they have to defend their patent or risk losing it.
Good to know Wired's weighing in like this. Too bad their reporter's phone records are going to be used to figure out his anonymous source.
Still, but if they're saying that on their website, you have a case against them.
What is your stand on MP3?
This is one of those urban myths like alligators in the toilet. MP3 is just a technology and the technology itself never did anything wrong! There are lots of legal MP3s from great artists on many, many online sites. The problem is that some people use MP3 to take one copy of an album and make that copy available on the Internet for hundreds of thousands of people. That's not fair. If you choose to take your own CDs and make copies for yourself on your computer or portable music player, that's great. It's your music and we want you to enjoy it at home, at work, in the car and on the jogging trail. But the fact that technology exists to enable unlimited Internet distribution of music copies doesn't make it right. (emphasis mine)