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Google�s �Royalty-Free� WebM Video May Not Be Royalty-Free for Long

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“The announcement of Google’s new WebM video format and release
of the VP8 video codec as an open standard have been hailed by some
as the move that will free the Web from the proprietary H.264 codec
widely used for online video today and favored by Apple (AAPL) and
Microsoft (MSFT).

“”The world would have a new free format unencumbered by
software patents,” the Free Software Foundation enthused in an open
letter to Google (GOOG) earlier this year. “Viewers, video
creators, free software developers, hardware
makers–everyone–would have another way to distribute
video without patents, fees, and restrictions.”

“A new era of Web video without the patent-encumbered formats
that have defined the Internet to date. That seems ideal. But like
many ideals, it may prove to be unattainable.”


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