[Asterisk-Users] G.729 licensing/patent?

[Benjamin on Asterisk Mailing Lists]

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 20:52:40 +0100, Kevin Walsh <kevin at cursor.biz> wrote:
> Your views are biased upon the ridiculous legal system used in the US

Well, I have had no exposure to the legal system in the US, since I
never lived there. I did live in the UK though and I did have exposure
to the legal system there. So, if I am biased, then it would rather be
the other way 'round.

> courts, where favourable judgements are only awarded to those who can
> afford them.  You can't buy judgements in England.

I have had my own first hand insights into the legal system in the UK,
so I know very well that the picture of paradise you paint here is
more wishful thinking than reality.

Just browse the patent database of UK patents and search for GSM (not
the codec). Pretty much any network element in a GSM network is
nothing other than a Unix box running some software that defines the
function of the box. Yet, UK mobile phone companies and GSM equipment
manufacturers have been granted an amazing amount of patents and they
are being used against third parties. The question where the line is
drawn is non-trivial, even in the UK.

rgds
benjk

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