Re:Germany will violate international agreements with Unitar...
by CamperBob2 on Thursday September 17, 2020 @08:00PM
(#24511418)
It hasn't significantly done so in the US where software patents have long existed.
Speaking as someone who has worked in fields related to data compression and audio/video codecs, you can't imagine how wrong you are about this. Entire fields of research have been blocked off from the point of view of commercial developers and researchers. Nobody would touch arithmetic encoding with the proverbial ten-foot pole until IBM's fundamental patent expired, for instance.[1] Never mind LZW derivatives.
It's outrageous that patents on fundamental algorithms were ever allowed. Germans need to do what they can to stop it.
Speaking as someone who has worked in fields related to data compression and audio/video codecs, you can't imagine how wrong you are about this. Entire fields of research have been blocked off from the point of view of commercial developers and researchers. Nobody would touch arithmetic encoding with the proverbial ten-foot pole until IBM's fundamental patent expired, for instance.[1] Never mind LZW derivatives.
It's outrageous that patents on fundamental algorithms were ever allowed. Germans need to do what they can to stop it.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_coding#History_and_...