[mythtv-users] Legality of selling MythTV and its Components?

[Joe Votour]

--- Rob Goretsky <rgoretsky at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I am interested in building preconfigured MythTV
> boxes and then selling 
> them.  I plan on donating a percentage of my profits
> directly to MythTV 
> development, and will contribute code updates/fixes
> to MythTV.
> 
> I have looked through these archives for information
> about some legal issues 
> surrounding the retail resale of preconfigured
> MythTV boxes, but this is all 
> I have found so far:
> 
> 1) Including DVD ripping software is illegal.
> 2) Including DVD playback program is illegal.
> 3) Including any ROM images for video games (for
> MythGame) that are not 
> owned by me is illegal.
> 
> Other than these points, are there any other legal
> issues that I should be 
> aware of when planning on selling preconfigured
> MythTV boxes?   Can anybody 
> point me to a good reference on this?
> 
> Thank you for your help!
> 
> Thanks,
> Rob Goretsky
> 
>
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Don't forget:
4. MP3 (used for software encoding/frame capture
cards) is patented (by Fraunhofer, I think)
5. MPEG-4 (used for software encoding and sometimes
transcoding and playback) is patented.
6. MPEG-2 (used for playback) is patented.

Although those three items are handled by GPLd
software (LAME and ffmpeg/libmpeg), you would still
have to negotiate royalties with the patent holders if
you sold the machines in a country where the patents
are honored.

(Yes, if you live in the United States and you use
MythTV there's a very good chance you're infringing on
peoples' patents.  They don't come after us, probably
for the reason that it would highlight the flaws in
the patent system and spoil it for them.)

-- Joe

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