Backers of a next-generation multimedia compression technology want to charge a controversial fee -- but instead their plan is fanning interest in free, open-source alternatives.
On Jan. 31, the agency charged with licensing MPEG-4, a standard for digital audio and video compression, announced a series of new fees. Manufacturers of software programs that incorporate MPEG-4 would be required to pay 25 cents for each copy they sell (up to a cap of $1 million per year). More controversially, the alliance of companies pushing the MPEG-4 standard also proposed a "use fee" -- a 2 cents an hour charge that either users or manufacturers of the software would have to come up with.
Stop. Pay Toll. Download
Salon.com
by Damien Cave
Monday, March 11, 2002
 Comments:
|
