[gst-devel] ASF licensing issues?

[Michael Smith]

On Wed, 2007-03-07 at 09:25 -0800, Fabrice Triboix wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> Regarding the fact that the ASF format is patented, I
> would like to know whether it is legal to play a ASF
> file/stream on a PC or an embedded device without
> paying anything to Micro$oft.

There are, I believe, some claims of patents on parts of ASF. You'd be
best served by consulting a patent lawyer on the details of this, and
whether the claims affect playback.

However, regardless of that, I've never seen an ASF stream that doesn't
contain _at least_ Windows Media Audio or Windows Media Video.

Those formats are most certainly not possible to legally play back for
free in large parts of the world (again, of course, you may need to
consult a patent lawyer to determine the applicability of these patents
to your jurisdiction and uses), so the legal status of ASF alone isn't
really all that important.

Mike