[M4IF Discuss] Article in Salon.com

[Robert Saint John]

Thanks for passing on the link, Rob.
I just wanted to point out that my quote:
"The patent holders will end up being the biggest losers," says Robert Saint
John, marketing director for Ligos, a streaming media company. "I'm afraid
these [MPEG-LA] companies are shooting themselves in the foot."
...might read as if I was against MPEG-LA and any licensing at all, and that
I was a true believer in "Open Source Will Save MPEG". Like any quote,
that's not quite the case. My full perspective on these matters is too long
to be summed up in a few lines. Rather than post the entire (long) reply to
Damien's questions here, I'll refer anyone who is interested to:
http://www.nearlynews.com/salon/salon_stjohn.txt
As always, I speak for myself, not my employer. Thanks!
Robert 
-- 
Robert W. Saint John - rsaintjohn   ligos.com 
Director of Marketing 
Ligos Corporation - http://www.ligos.com/ 
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Koenen [mailto:rkoenen   intertrust.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2024 2:54 PM
To: Damien Cave (E-mail)
Cc: M4IF Discussion List (E-mail)
Subject: [M4IF Discuss] Article in Salon.com
A combination of keys that was so far unknown to me
made the email leave too soon.
>  -----Original Message-----
Hi Damien,
I just read your article on MPEG-4 licenses - very interesting.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/03/06/mpeg/index.html
A few facts in the very opening do, however, create potential
misunderstanding that will significantly confuse the issue:
"On Jan. 31, the agency charged with licensing MPEG-4, a standard for
digital 
  audio and video compression, announced a series of new fees."
   MPEGLA is _not_ charged with licensing by anyone, except by
   the licensors themselves that seek to operate through a single
   outlet. Their license is always non-exclusive
"More controversially, the alliance of companies pushing the MPEG-4 standard
also proposed a "use fee" 
  the real alliance of companies pusing MPEG-4 is not MPEGLA but M4IF, 
  which has _not_ proposed the use fee. 
"Cooked up by an alliance of 18 consumer electronics companies called
MPEG-LA, 
the MPEG-4 standard is"
    MPEG-4 was _not_ cooked up by MPEGLA or the licensors,
    but by MPEG, an ISO standards grouip (the Moving Picture 
    Experts Group) Many more than the 18 licensors took part. 
    see http://mpeg.telecomitalialab.com
"a 2 cents an hour charge that either users or manufacturers 
 of the software would have to come up with. "
  User will _not_ be charged under the proposed scheme.
Thanks for the (rest of) the article which is interesting and 
highlights the different perspectives well.
Best Regards,
Rob Koenen
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