[Mageia-dev] [RFC] Moving various packages/codecs to tainted

[David Walser]

andre999 wrote:
> We're talking about codecs, essentially the decoders which are used to 
> read encoded files.
> If the patent claims are valid/enforceable (and most aren't), it is up 
> to the patent holder to decide if it is in their interest to enforce the 
> patent claims.
> Since they will normally attempt to collect royalties from those using 
> the encoders to generate encoded content, it is in their interest avoid 
> enforcing claims against users of decoders, as the more such decoders 
> are used, the more the demand for the corresponding encoders, and thus 
> the more royalties they will collect.  So it seems to me entirely 
> logical to await notification that they indeed intend to collect 
> royalties for these codec decoders.
> However I do agree that we should put encoders that seem to be covered 
> by valid patents in some countries in "tainted".

If we really want a hard and fast rule, I agree that this makes the most sense.