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Re: [ITP] libmad/libmad0/libmad-devel: A high-quality MPEG audio decoder


On Sep  7 22:11, Charles Wilson wrote:
> Brian Dessent wrote:
> >You're correct.  The mp3 format/algorithm is patented, and you are
> >supposed to obtain a license if you ship software that uses it. 
> ><http://www.mp3licensing.com/help/developer.html#5>.  It doesn't matter
> >what the license of the source code is, because patents apply to
> >algorithms and methods not to specific implementations.  This is why a
> >lot of noncommercial linux distros have to omit mp3-playing capability
> >from their package list and relegate it to "extras" or "third party
> >sites."  So, no mp3 libs in Cygwin would seem to be the prognosis.
> 
> Further, it appears that Red Hat (Fedora) has chosen to avoid these 
> libraries as well.  libmad is available for Mandriva at the Penguin 
> Liberation Front; it is available for Fedora over at Freshrpms -- both 
> of which are hosted, er, elsewhere and are not discussed or supported on 
> official channels.

Right.  Along these lines, our OpenSSL doesn't ship with the IDEA, RC5
and MDC2 algorithms.  I really don't like it but it might be better to
stay on the safe side and keep binaries with patented algorithms in
some external repository.


Corinna

-- 
Corinna Vinschen                  Please, send mails regarding Cygwin to
Cygwin Project Co-Leader          mailto:cygwin@cygwin.com
Red Hat, Inc.


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