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submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[-] [email protected] 193 points 8 months ago

Programs are mathematical proofs. If maths cannot be patented, software can't be, either.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

Proofs can be represented as programs, not the other way around. Also, USA allows for algorithm parents, and algorithms are maths. While I agree with you, your reasoning is not correct.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

No, the proof - program correspondence is in both directions.

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[-] [email protected] 134 points 8 months ago

You can hear a more detailed explanation on VLC's stance from the man himself (JB Kempf) in the FOSS pod S1E11 episode around 22:10.

Basically:

  • Not that many threats become lawsuits
  • Patent trolling is countered with publicly accessible prior art
  • Having no money is also a good deterrent
[-] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Thanks for the heads up about FOSS pod. Had not heard of it before.

[-] [email protected] 124 points 8 months ago

This is all well and good, and where’s the Traffic Cone!?!

[-] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago

Under Santa's hat

[-] [email protected] 27 points 8 months ago

Asking the real questions here.

[-] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

The cone is the logo for their most popular project (VLC media player), but this is a message from the organization as a whole, which has the logo you currently see. It is not specifically about that one project.

[-] [email protected] 68 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Wait, I thought all countries followed US laws???

[-] [email protected] 102 points 8 months ago

What are these "other country" things you mention? You mean the place where war happens and immigrants come from? I didn't know they had computers there.

[-] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Can confirm, here in Norway there's both civil and uncivil war at the moment. The uncivil part is against sweden. The country ran out of hamburgers last week, and the hamburger mines have been sabotaged. The only productive diplomatic channel with sweden has been utilized to agree on forming a donkey-caravan across the atlantic ocean into Mexico where humanitarian efforts will provide us with sombreros and crime for our trip north towards the US border. I am posting this from the last steam powered telefax which still has enough coal to run. Wish me luck.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Damn I imagined this

We need a movie about it

[-] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

They have computers, but only a privileged few know how to use them: https://youtu.be/IrCQh1usdzE?t=944

[-] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

They're probably talking about Puerto Rico.

[-] [email protected] 56 points 8 months ago

Please be sarcasm... Please be sarcasm... Oh I pray to the dark void of the universe that this is sarcasm.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

it absolutely is, take it from an autistic person.

(autstic people often don't recognize or can't properly replicate sarcasm, which is why i often use /s)

[-] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago

Yeah, but I've also met several (Americans, usually) who had takes like these and... Uh... Unfortunately meant it.

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[-] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

While the mistake is a common one, all countries have actually agreed to jointly follow bird law in these sorts of matters.

[-] [email protected] 53 points 8 months ago

AFAIK european laws only allow to patent "inventions". Software is considered to be a series of "words" in whatever programming language you're using and, like sentences, it's not an invention and can't be patented.

On the other hand, software-assisted inventions can be patented as a whole.

With that said, software can still be considered a "work" protected by copyright laws.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

And that's fine. VLC does their own implementation of codecs so that's not an issue. It's the patents that make it an issue.

[-] [email protected] 53 points 9 months ago
[-] [email protected] 149 points 9 months ago

They don't recognize or value software patents because they aren't recognized by the government where the project is run from.

[-] [email protected] 60 points 9 months ago
[-] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

Seeing the last law on immigration :/

[-] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

We got fucked real bad but we are coming for our rulers and will take down their previous work

[-] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago
[-] [email protected] 115 points 9 months ago

French laws don't recognize software patents so videolan doesn't either. This is likely a reference to vlc supporting h265 playback without verifying a license. These days most opensource software pretends that the h265 patents and licensing fees don't exist for convenience. I believe libavcodec is distributed with support enabled by default.

Nearly every device with hardware accelerated h265 support has already had the license paid for, so there's not much point in enforcing it. Only large companies like Microsoft and Red Hat bother.

[-] [email protected] 76 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

They bother because they are US based and can be hounded by the patent ~~trolls~~ holders

[-] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

let’s not go too far though… the holders of h264/h265 did put a lot of money and effort into developing the codec: a new actual thing… they are not patent trolls, who by definition produce nothing new other than legal mess

[-] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

On the other hand, Fraunhofer is obnoxious enough about licensing and enforcement that companies like Google invested similar money and effort into developing open-source codecs just to avoid dealing with them.

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[-] [email protected] 73 points 9 months ago

America has the odd idea that software is considered patentable. Since the developers of VLC are French, and software isn't considered patentable in France, they're saying "Va te faire enculer" to people who want to sue them.

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[-] [email protected] 32 points 8 months ago
[-] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Fuck that, I like that it's different. I feel a lot of the logos are too similar and boring.

This one has the retro feel to it.

[-] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago

I don't think they were complaining about the design. It invoked a memory of a beloved video game studio from the past that had a similar logo (Westwood Studios) and they are a bit heartbroken. I didn't take their comment as an actual complaint against VideoLAN's logo.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago
[-] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

graphic design is my passion

[-] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago

That’s not their stance, that’s French law

[-] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

I think it both. Not all software or codec provider aim to apply the EU and French laws. Quite the contrary

[-] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

Utterly based.

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this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
1037 points (99.0% liked)

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