[asterisk-users] Some queries on g729 license.

[Paul]

Jerry wrote:

>>>What about the free open source G729
>>>      
>>>
>>There's no such thing ... g.729 (as per the ITU specification) is patent
>>encumbered. Anyone USING the codec has to pay a license to the patent
>>holders.
>>    
>>
>
>I believe (this may have changed) that ANY patented technology can be used
>for free educationally. The idea is that people can study and play with
>the technology for no charge. I'm not sure if this means that a University
>can use this in their phone system without paying the patent fees, though.
>
>Now, certainly there can be "open source" versions of the G.729 codec.
>They can even be "free" in the sense that the author is not charging. But
>the author can't waive the patent rights.
>
>Intel has a freely downloadable codec for educational use, but they have a
>long legalese document which explains the patent obligations.
>
>If you are using G.729 commercially, there is no question you have a legal
>obligation to pay the patent holder for his rights.
>  
>
Whether it's a university or a megacorporation studying the technology,
they have to be very careful.

Suppose we are working on automotive fuel economy or emissions
improvement. If we buy a new or used car we are reasonably sure that a
multitude of patents involved are being legally used. If we build a
cadillac clone for the research, I would be worried.

Another factor to consider in some cases is when we sign a sales
contract that includes things like "no reverse engineering". It might be
hard to prove that we did not reverse engineer the product in order to
develop a patentable improvement.