On 14/05/2018 11:26, Jackson, Dan wrote:
> A quick google reveals that "The final patent in the United States
> which covered the MPEG-2 video codec, #7,334,248, expired on February
> 13, 2018".
>
> This is corroborated by the MPEG LA website at
> http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/M2/Pages/PatentList.aspx.
>
> Doesn't this mean there shouldn't be an issue?
My understanding was that it was the inclusion of libdvdcss that was the
problem, as this is a tool for circumventing encryption and/or defeating
copy protection (regardless of whether you then go on to make a copy).
There are probably arguments that could be made either way, but it
wasn't something we felt comfortable distributing as an institution.
In answer to the original question, most drives are supplied with a
license for something capable of dvd playback (usually powerdvd), and we
have confirmed with our PC supplier that we are licensed to use that on
hardware that we have purchased with a DVD drive, so we install that
instead. The version we were supplied with is restricted to devices from
that manufacturer and does a BIOS check at install time.
Mike
--
Mike Sandells
The University of Liverpool - Computing Services Department
Email: [log in to unmask] (*Preferred*) - Phone: 0151 794 4437
http://www.liverpool.ac.uk/csd
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