Pete Dijkman pete_dijkman@yahoo.com writes:
MythTV http://mythtv.org is an example of a great free software project. Non-royalty free patents and the GPL just seem uncompatible to me or am I missing something??
You're right, they are incompatible, but until the patent holder brings a case the vendor is not necessarily violating the GPL in itself.
Releasing any product carries a risk of patent infringement (we're all probably infringing on some patent somewhere) so there is a judgement call involved.
However, I wouldn't recommend using the MP3 codec in a commercial product using free sofware --- since there are good free alternatives available, such as Ogg Vorbis, it would be better to use those.