If I’m interpreting this correctly, many MP4 patents are going to expire next year. 🎉

  • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    38
    ·
    11 hours ago

    Someone will most likely patent hack it in order to reclaim it, then try to patent troll about it… Because corporate people are jerks.

    • woelkchen@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      28
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      10 hours ago

      Someone will most likely patent hack it in order to reclaim it, then try to patent troll about it… Because corporate people are jerks.

      How? If the tech is older than 25 years, it’s prior art no matter what. MP3 is fully free for the same reasons.

      • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        edit-2
        8 hours ago

        Happened recently with a 1995 patent by a Stratasys, on a stronger technique for 3D printing using a brick infill method.

        Someone re-parented a variation to prevent it being public domain until 2040.

        • woelkchen@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          8 hours ago

          Someone re-parented a variation to prevent it being public domain until 2040.

          So the variation cannot be used. That’s irrelevant for a file format. Some company could, for example, patent a more efficient encoding technique but the resulting file format is still public domain. So at worst an open source encoder would need to be slightly inefficient because it uses the traditional technique.

          • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            4 hours ago

            Okay, pay X amount of dollars to go say that in a few court cases, and hope you get a judge that understands.

            That’s why it’s called Patent Trolling because it’s not official or legitimate.