[asterisk-users] is g729 codec free? or under license???

[Steve Underwood]

On 10/05/2013 11:07 PM, Darryl Moore wrote:
>
>
> On 2013-10-04 5:36 PM, "Steve Underwood" <steveu at coppice.org 
> <mailto:steveu at coppice.org>> wrote:
> >
> > On 10/05/2013 01:32 AM, Darryl Moore wrote:
> >>
> >> I'll explain.
> >>
> >> The g.729 compression algorithm is not protected by copyright, though
> >> specific instances may be. It is protected by a patent.
> >>
> >> http://www.sipro.com/G-729.html
> >>
> >> An open source version is available here:
> >>
> >> http://asterisk.hosting.lv/
> >>
> >> What stops you from using this, or even your own implementation isn't
> >> copyright, but patent protection. It is the right to use the patented
> >> technology that you are licensing, not the particular copyrighted coded
> >> that implements it.
> >
> > The G.729 codec software at http://asterisk.hosting.lv/actually uses 
> a codec implementation copyrighted by Intel. You need to obey their 
> copyright conditions.
> >
>
> correct, and for a few hundred dollars you are free to use it as you 
> see fit, without royalties. note that i also said that the patent 
> license applies even on code that you write yourself.
>
> >> Here you will find the various G.729 patents which were all granted in
> >> 1996.
> >>
> >> https://www.itu.int/ITU-T/recommendations/related_ps.aspx?id_prod=3334
> >>
> >>
> >> I had thought these expired next year because I was thinking patents
> >> were only 18 years. Turns out they are now 20 years, so they really do
> >> not expire til some time in 2016. My bad.
> >
> > If you use G.729A (which practically everyone does) I think there 
> are one or two patent which run beyond 2016, at least in the US.
> >
>
> perhaps. i do not claim to have fully researched either the patents or 
> the protocol. is 729 compatible with 729a? out of curiosity though i 
> will find out more about these other patents.
>
>
> >> So in countries that honour software patents, you need to have a 
> license
> >> until some time in 2016. In countries which do not, you are free to use
> >> these open source codes now.
> >
> > What have the essential patents relevant to G.729 got to do with 
> software patents?
>
> [blink]
>
> umm... they are software patents.
>
Really? Do you have expert legal opinion on that? I've never seen anyone 
competent dispute the patentability of applied signal processing. Such 
patents get issued all over the world. There are a couple of software 
patents related to G.729, but those are not part of the essential pool 
of patents, and those are probably US only.
>
> >
> >>
> >> cheers.
> >>
> >> On Fri, 2013-10-04 at 15:55 +0200, Olivier wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>          Hmmmm, I'm not sure how g729 licence and software patents 
> relate to
> >>> each other.
>
Regards,
Steve