Originally posted by Qaridarium
H.265 is patented. x265 implements H.265 and is GPL. So, patents do not mean closed source!
However, in order to use a GPL implementation of a patented technique, you might be legally required to pay a license fee to the patent holder. But the implementation can still be open source.
That said, perhaps the patent holder can also order the open source developer(s) to cease distributing their (unlicensed) implementation. I'm not sure about that, but I've always assumed they could shut it down (or at least try).
Originally posted by Qaridarium
Originally posted by Qaridarium
Patents on software constructs were likely embraced for the same reasons as patents in other domains, which is not to say that they're not abused.
Originally posted by Qaridarium
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