[Asterisk-Users] Re: [Asterisk-Dev] Free G.729 ready for download

[Peter Svensson]

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004, Steve Underwood wrote:

> >>>But the patches aren't a derived work. That is the value they have here.
> >>>There are an independant adjunct work.
> >>>      
> >>>
> >>According to most lawyers a patch _is_ a derived work in nearly all
> >>circumstances. E.g. a novel based on the characters from a novel by
> >>another author is a derived work.
> >>    
> >>
> No. A patched copy is a derived work. A patch avoids containing enough 
> of the original to count.

Well, you need to see your lawyer about that. What I said above is what 
the Usenix legal council told usduring a workshop.

As an example, if I were to write a few more chapters to "Gone With the 
Wind" those would be a derived work and, in countries signatories to one 
of the two copyright treaties, the property of the original copyright 
holders.

An explaination by someone more skilled with words than I am is at 
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/cc-licenses/2004-March/000528.html

Had the patch been against the actual g729 libraries the case would have 
been clear. Now, the patch is against asterisk to make it interoperate 
with the g729 libarary and this may or may not be non-infringing. However, 
the distribution of the g729 libraries themselves are almost certainly 
infringing. There is also the possibility that the patch to asterisk may 
be ruled a contribuatory infringement.

Just because it is a patch does not mean it is non-infringing. See a 
lawyer.

Peter