Hi!
We really express thank you again. Those
Information is too useful, So We will check each
Software more careful for the COPYRIGHT & License and
checked them with our lawer at last. But the
'algorithms'/patents seems a trouble, it maybe a
obstructor for the Open Source. And How to know the
patents we maybe use
should/shouldn't use in commercial products. Seems
Mplayer meet this problem few weeks ago.
You suggest us use one linux distribution to get
the license and COPYRIGHT. It is a good idea, But
does it will case the patents problem?
Thank you for your advise, we will try to contact
linux distributor.
Best regards
Zhan Zhaohua
2005.11.9
--- Unger Richard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> First I have to mention that I am NOT a lawer, so my
> advice should be taken with care, and checked with
> your lawer.
>
> My understanding is that, unfortunately, you will
> need to check the licenses of ALL software that you
> use in your product.
>
> This is in three categories:
>
> 1) Software that you use only to create the product
> (compilers, linkers, testing software, content
> creation software) but do not ship with the product.
> In general this should be NO problem, since this
> software is sold or provided specifically for the
> purpose of working with it. However, for some very
> specialized software tools, restrictions may apply
> on the artifacts they generate. I do not expect you
> will have a problem here.
>
> 2) The software you ship with your product. You will
> need to check each software package that is used on
> the product to make sure you have the necessary
> rights to use and redistribute it (in compiled
> form). Unfortunately for most software products this
> does mean that if you need A, and A uses B, and B
> uses C, you will need to check the licenses for A, B
> and C, since you will need to include all three in
> the product.
> Also, don't forget Fonts (Typefaces) here, most of
> which are also covered by copyright and licenses.
>
> 3) Finally, another thing you need to check is
> 'algorithms'/patents. For a DirectFB-related product
> this is probably for technologies like MPEG2, MPEG4,
> mp3, and similar codec technologies. These codecs
> are covered by patents owned by industry
> associations or companies, and they require license
> fees for products using these technologies.
> Often it is the case that Open Source projects
> provide implementations of these codecs WITHOUT
> having the required licenses for the patents they
> use. Sometimes it is the case that the Open Source
> project has an agreement with the patent holder
> permitting it to provide the software free of charge
> for non-commercial use.
> The companies usually ignore open source,
> non-commercial use of their patents, but will not
> ignore commercial products that use the patents.
> For you this means that you not only need to check
> the license for the software, but also the license
> for the patent.
> However, this is not the situation for most of the
> software you will use, only for things like codecs.
>
>
> The above sounds a lot worse than it is: for a
> linux-based system, almost all the software you will
> need will have an open source license that will not
> cause you any problems. After all, there are already
> very many commercial products based on linux.
>
> One possible option for you is to use the help of a
> linux 'distributor' (like RedHat, RedFlag, VALinux,
> etc...). These companies will sell you a linux
> distribution (version) for use in your product.
> Aside from the other benefits like having an expert
> technical partner and support, you can make the
> contract so that the distributor assumes
> responsibility for the licensing issues. You buy a
> linux version which is guaranteed by the distributor
> to be commercially useable, and the licensing issues
> for the software are his problem.
>
> Hope that helps,
>
> Regards from Vienna,
>
> Richard Unger
>
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