Re: [xine-devel] lindows settlement is about win32 dlls?

[Stephen t. <st...@to...>]

On Thu, 2004-09-09 at 12:40, Miguel Freitas wrote:
> hey,
> 
> i just found this text linked from linuxtoday:
> 
> http://contracts.onecle.com/lindows/microsoft.settle.2004.07.16.shtml
> 
> it is the lindows x microsoft settlement agreement, supposedly
> confidential. don't ask me why/how this was made public.
> 
> the interesting point is that microsoft is complaining about copyright
> violations of the win32 dlls, which are used to decode windows media
> 9. now lindows must stop distributing these dlls with their packaged
> version of xine and mplayer.
> 
> i don't know what implications this might have but it is, at least, an
> interesting text (if legal texts can be interesting)...

The only copyright issue that I can forsee that MS complained about is
that they want to be the only one that releases the DLLs files. They
want to be able to exclude non-MS users from "consuming" the benefit of
their work. Since Lindows was producing a product for profit that was
making money for themselves MS would naturally complain that Lindows is
infringing on their rights without compensation. So if you make a
product for profit that would use MS DLLs then it should be expected
that you would have to license the DLLs if you want to include the
binary DLLs in your product.

What cannot be seen as a copyright violation is the actual usage of the
DLLs to perform the intended action (e.g. watch video) when you are not
producing a product for free use. If you download a free product like MS
Window Media Player or obtain the DLLs through some legal means and use
the DLLs for watching a video on a non-MS system then I cannot see how
this would violate any license agreement. You got a free product
legally. You used the DLLs without modifyng them. You watched a video.
Arguements of "fair use" can be inserted here.

Of course I am not a lawyer, policymaker in government or a judicial
figure. So go ask a lawyer in your country. Intellectual property laws
differ.

Stephen
-- 
Email: st...@to...