On Monday 29 January 2007 10:07, Charles philip Chan wrote:
On 29 Jan 2007, kai@perfectreign.com wrote:
I wonder then how is it MP3 is a standard. Aren't standards open by default?
The technical details are out in the open. MP3 is an ISO standard, however the iso have no requirements that the standard must be patent free or that the patent holder can't "extort" royalties. MP3 is a typical bait and switch scam:
(1) Allow people to use it for free.
(2) Charge royalties when it is entrenched.
This page is an interesting read:
Ahh, thank you: "a lot of people are working on the development of each MPEG standard. But they are all working for companies paying them. It is because this kind of algorithmic research needs a high level of knowledge and a lot of time (in most of the cases it is a full-time job). So the work done by those people is property of their respective employers." It makes sense, then, that Frauenhofer and/or Thomson would want to recoup their costs. I had ASSumed that a standard was open and free, otherwise it wouldn't be a "standard" such as A4 paper or ISO 100 film. -- kai www.perfectreign.com || www.4thedadz.com www.filesite.org || www.donutmonster.com closing the doors that surround me so no one will ever penetrate complete my retreat just to wait for the day that never comes so i will laugh alone -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org