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