Comment 49 for bug 197957

Thank you for taking a look at this :)

I'm with you on the... This is Dolby Digital Surround Sound(TM) and as such it is protected under some form of patent and is controlled under the law.

Never the less, libav(the source package for the build depends, libavcodec-dev) has been uploaded to main so no-other packaging is required. The ALSA A52 Plugin can be part of main, as it shouldn't introduce any NEW patent material or legal restrictions. This removes the reasoning for the aforementioned splitting of patented material into another package.

So, the patch stands and is at least one correct solution to this bug.

I feel like I've said all this before, sorry for the broken record.
The issue here is that we are NOT lawyers and as such we couldn’t even begin to unravel whether or not this is legal and the issue spreads even further as the ffmpeg FAQ indicates. Essentially the attitude that we perceive this to be patented is a lot like believing that a meteor is going to cause the next great extinction vary soon-ish. It's vary *possible, but in the grand scheme of things the probability is not vary great. So it's BOTH illegal and legal at the same time, IMHO.

As for "What do we do with this pkg?" Well, the libav package is almost certainly the lowest hanging fruit if Dolby Labs decides to do anything abut it's legal rights... Also keep in mind they could file any lawsuit in civil court(at least here in the US), even if they don't like the paint job on Canonical's headquarters. So as far as preventing a law suit, there is not much the ALSA pkgs can do. One way or another the small bit of a52 code that makes use of the larger ac3 code in libav won't attract much attention. If it's even mentioned as part of any legal action, you should be flattered. It would be a horrible waste of the already uncertain legal position not to take full advantage of the ac3 code in libav, while it's still **legal that is.

* With all the collisions in the asteroid belt, something could fly this way, with any given velocity, and arrive any time now.

** It's legal until some one files in court and even then the legality is uncertain, but you've officially worn out your welcome. This matter is far from being illegal, IMHO.