[amsat-bb] Re: D-STAR experiment on Cubesat

[Mark Vandewettering]

On Jun 9, 2008, at 8:55 AM, David B. Toth wrote:

One additional note that I forgot:  the various DRM (digital radio  
mondiale) like modes are using technology which is almost certainly  
illegal in many countries.  MELP based encoders are patent encumbered,  
and hams typically have not acquired the rights to use them in free or  
open source applications.  As an example, consider FDMDV.  If you go  
to their website to download it:

http://n1su.com/fdmdv/download.html

You'll see that the download doesn't include the MELP.dll.  Why?   
Because it is illegal for the author of FDMDV to distribute the DLL,  
and he doesn't want to get sued.  So, he's basically transferring any  
liability he might have for using patented technology without  
appropriate licensing to you.  In short, it's a dodge.  While I  
disagree with many aspects of intellectual property law, the law _is_  
fairly clear, and I think it is very dangerous for us as hams to  
flaunt the laws of our respective countries in this manner.

	Mark KF6KYI