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Old 09-03-2007, 01:44 PM   #19 (permalink)
GNUrag
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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Default Re: 30 days using Ubuntu

Quote:
Originally Posted by gx_saurav
What about VLC Player? isn't that open source? Why not include that
You still dont seem to get it, do you?

If you bundle software capable of playing back MP3 streams, you need to pay up the patent owner of MP3 codec, i.e. Thomson Consumer Electronics.

Have a look at the MP3 Licensing rates at Thomson's website.
http://mp3licensing.com/royalty/
you need to pay $5 per unit of codec distributed to users. Would you mind calculating how much that comes out to for just one distro like say Ubuntu who has been distriibuting couple of million copies of CDs (multiplied by 5 versions of ubuntu - warty, hoary, breezy, dapper, edgy)
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