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I can write code based on someone else's IP and post it. Because open source! I'm a hero! I implemented a spec. Wow! Why should anyone be able to nullify the e

by tacos 10y ago

I can write code based on someone else's IP and post it. Because open source! I'm a hero! I implemented a spec. Wow! Why should anyone be able to nullify the entire value of another company just by implementing the spec they published? Therefore, the patent system.

krapht 10y ago
I thought mathematical algorithms couldn't be patented, which is what a compression algorithm is, no?
- throwawaykf05 10y ago
  No, only abstract mathematical algorithms cannot be patented. Compression is a concrete application of mathematical algorithms.
makomk 10y ago
Of course, their IP doesn't have value because it's particularly clever, it has value because it's in a specification that people have to implement in order to inter-operate with everything else that's based on the same specification. Their patent could be on a trivial tweak to something that's unpatented with no benefit other than making them money in licensing fees, and as long as they can get their version into the standard...
- tacos 10y ago
  As a consumer I can watch videos for free on multiple services. I can create them for free on multiple devices with free software packages. And, as someone who battled multiple inane video and audio formats since the late 80s, now's the only time in history where it's fast, easy, cheap and trivial to distribute media that just works on any device. I'm sure somebody will try to claim "chilling effect" based on one of those "free" not being Free. But things are better than they've ever been from the point of view that matters most: getting stuff done, getting stuff published, and getting yourself heard without forcing your audience to install stuff first. Some tiny royalty payment pre-paid by the platform doesn't destroy the experience. But forcing my mom to install some sketchy open source software with the wrong volume control UI then telling her to drag and drop my Happy Mother's Day video onto a traffic cone sure does.

by tacos 10y ago

krapht 10y ago

I thought mathematical algorithms couldn't be patented, which is what a compression algorithm is, no?

throwawaykf05 10y ago
No, only abstract mathematical algorithms cannot be patented. Compression is a concrete application of mathematical algorithms.

makomk 10y ago

Of course, their IP doesn't have value because it's particularly clever, it has value because it's in a specification that people have to implement in order to inter-operate with everything else that's based on the same specification. Their patent could be on a trivial tweak to something that's unpatented with no benefit other than making them money in licensing fees, and as long as they can get their version into the standard...

tacos 10y ago
As a consumer I can watch videos for free on multiple services. I can create them for free on multiple devices with free software packages. And, as someone who battled multiple inane video and audio formats since the late 80s, now's the only time in history where it's fast, easy, cheap and trivial to distribute media that just works on any device. I'm sure somebody will try to claim "chilling effect" based on one of those "free" not being Free. But things are better than they've ever been from the point of view that matters most: getting stuff done, getting stuff published, and getting yourself heard without forcing your audience to install stuff first. Some tiny royalty payment pre-paid by the platform doesn't destroy the experience. But forcing my mom to install some sketchy open source software with the wrong volume control UI then telling her to drag and drop my Happy Mother's Day video onto a traffic cone sure does.