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I thought this was particularly interesting: With regard to patents, VP8 copies way too much from H.264 for anyone sane to be comfortable with it, no matter wh

by rufo 16y ago

I thought this was particularly interesting: With regard to patents, VP8 copies way too much from H.264 for anyone sane to be comfortable with it, no matter whose word is behind the claim of being patent-free. Google isn't indemnifying those who might use VP8, right?

kjhgfghjk 16y ago
Correct. The trouble is that someone may have a patent on the idea of compressing a video stream, or even viewing video on a computer - irrespective of the technical details. What the indemnity licenses do is say, if you sue our customer for using this - you also have to sue us. And 'us' is a consortium of Sony/MS/IBM/Panasonic etc, not a gang you want to get into a patent war with.
Locke1689 16y ago
Right. As far as I understand, this is untenable legally anyway. The MPEG group has the authority to sue anyone and everyone in violation (including the end user). Google is obviously not offering to pay damages in all of those suites.
- DrSprout 16y ago
  Google may however sue MPEG / MPEG members in retaliation, and that could be an effective deterrent.
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papachito 16y ago
He also says this: > VP8 is definitely better compression-wise than Theora and Dirac, so if its claim to being patent-free does stand up, it’s an upgrade with regard to patent-free video formats. Sounds to me like he has no clue yet, and how could he if it's just been released?
- JshWright 16y ago
  Down-voted for factual inaccuracy. From the very first paragraph: >Fortunately, it seems I was able to acquire access to the VP8 spec, software, and source a good few days before the official release and so was able to perform a detailed technical analysis in time for the official release. The only "clue" he's missing is whether or not VP8 is buried under a flood of patent lawsuits. Since that's something only time will tell, I think it's perfectly reasonable for him to add that qualification to his claim that VP8 is an upgrade from Theora and Dirac.
  - papachito 16y ago
    a few days is not enough to determine whether it infringes on any patents, sometimes it take year for a single patent.
    - bad_user 16y ago
      For all the clueless opinions flying around patents, Jason actually gave technical arguments ... imagine the shock I had to read an insightful technical article, rather than opinions filled with religion or politics. > sometimes it take year for a single patent It takes only seconds to issue threats. And a single threat can stop people from adopting it.

by rufo 16y ago

kjhgfghjk 16y ago

Correct. The trouble is that someone may have a patent on the idea of compressing a video stream, or even viewing video on a computer - irrespective of the technical details. What the indemnity licenses do is say, if you sue our customer for using this - you also have to sue us. And 'us' is a consortium of Sony/MS/IBM/Panasonic etc, not a gang you want to get into a patent war with.

Locke1689 16y ago

Right. As far as I understand, this is untenable legally anyway. The MPEG group has the authority to sue anyone and everyone in violation (including the end user). Google is obviously not offering to pay damages in all of those suites.

DrSprout 16y ago
Google may however sue MPEG / MPEG members in retaliation, and that could be an effective deterrent.

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papachito 16y ago

He also says this: > VP8 is definitely better compression-wise than Theora and Dirac, so if its claim to being patent-free does stand up, it’s an upgrade with regard to patent-free video formats. Sounds to me like he has no clue yet, and how could he if it's just been released?

JshWright 16y ago
Down-voted for factual inaccuracy. From the very first paragraph: >Fortunately, it seems I was able to acquire access to the VP8 spec, software, and source a good few days before the official release and so was able to perform a detailed technical analysis in time for the official release. The only "clue" he's missing is whether or not VP8 is buried under a flood of patent lawsuits. Since that's something only time will tell, I think it's perfectly reasonable for him to add that qualification to his claim that VP8 is an upgrade from Theora and Dirac.
- papachito 16y ago
  a few days is not enough to determine whether it infringes on any patents, sometimes it take year for a single patent.
  - bad_user 16y ago
    For all the clueless opinions flying around patents, Jason actually gave technical arguments ... imagine the shock I had to read an insightful technical article, rather than opinions filled with religion or politics. > sometimes it take year for a single patent It takes only seconds to issue threats. And a single threat can stop people from adopting it.