From kristoff.bonne@compaqnet.be  Wed Nov 14 20:19:22 2001
From: kristoff.bonne@compaqnet.be (Kristoff Bonne)
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 21:19:22 +0100 (CET)
Subject: [Patents] patents on ITU-proposals (g.729)
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.30.0111070942510.1467-100000@frigg.belbone.net>

Greetings,

I had a 4-day course on VoIP (voice of IP) last week; so I decided also to
take a look at 'openh323' (a 'open' H323 -voip- stack:
http://www.openh323.org/).

One of the issues with this stack is the support for certain voice-codec.
Some of them (e.g. g723.1) are official ITU-proposal but have
patents on them owned by private companies (in this case microsoft).
I'm not an expert in this; this is just what I understoud from what was in
the mailing-list and on the openh323-website).


It turnes out that the openh323-stack cannot use these codecs; due to
these licences:
- There used to be a software version (this means, completely done by the
CPU of the computer), but for that; the openh323-people do not have a
license of microsoft.
(I can understand this; as microsoft does have to get payed for
'inventing' these codec).

- There also is a hardware-board for PC (so, the coding is not done by the
PC, but by an extra device); but they (openh323) cannot use it either; as
the licence for these board says you can only use it with microsoft
netmeeting.
(In this case; all 'knowledge' about the codec is in the hardware-board;
so it is very good feasable that microsoft gets "payed" via the purchase
of the board).


I ask this question here; as I remember something that companies
that have a patent on technology that is part of a ITU-proposal; have
special obligation about granting licences on this technology; also about
the price for these licences.

Is this indead the case?

Can microsoft refuse to give a licence on a product; (e.g. a product that
runs on a non-microsoft operating-system?).
(openh323 runs on microsoft windows; but also on mac and on unix).
Can it ask any 'price' it wants? Can it impose special conditions on these
products (like "not on open-source projects")?

Links: (faq on openh323.org):
http://www.openh323.org/fom-serve/cache/21.html
http://www.openh323.org/fom-serve/cache/24.html
http://www.openh323.org/fom-serve/cache/26.html
http://www.openh323.org/fom-serve/cache/93.html

(patents on ITU):
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/dbase/patent/Patent_Policy.html
(Note 2.2)


Cheerio! Kr. Bonne.





