[linux-dvb] Re: Bad news :-(

[Daniel Unruh <unruh@freiburg.linux.de>]

On Wed, 8 Aug 2001, Marcus Daniel wrote:

> I think it is really bad that Dolby wants licence fees from everybody that 
> wants to decode AC3, but isn't reverse engeneering allowed in Europe?

This has nothing to do with reverse engineering - it is all about software
patents, which are not yet allowed in Europe.
The European Commission recently put in hand a study on the impact of
software patents. This study clearly shows that only an "economic
minority" (about 91% of all persons/entities questioned) opposes the
patentability of software.

We can expect software to be patentable in Europe soon (maybe 2003 or
2004).



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