Video and DVD Question

[asjdfwejqrfjcvm msz34rq33]

I was wondering if it is legal, in the United States, to install the Multimedia package. Automatix says installing win32 codecs and DVD support is illegal, and I was wondering if this was any different.
Thanks

[robotgeek]

It's probably illegal, and the warning needs to be implemented in the gtk gui. The qt gui already implements this.

[asjdfwejqrfjcvm msz34rq33]

Does anybody know exactly why it's illegal?

[T-Rexx]

Does anybody know exactly why it's illegal?

Many of the codecs required to play commercial video formats are patented pieces of software in themselves. In order to use the codecs legally, the end user must pay the patent holder the requisite licensing fee. For non-GPL operating systems or programs, this licensing fee is often paid for the end user by the commercial vendor of the OS or program. In the open-source, GPL community, the software is often free, which almost always means no one has paid any licensing fees.

In Europe, patent laws do not grant such comprehensive rights to the control and use of a proprietary media format as does the law in the United States. In fact, European law tends to discourage attempts by software vendors to limit competition for their products by control over the distribution and use of the media itself. Since a video codec is fundamentally an attempt by the developer of the codec to control access to the media, charging for use of such codecs is proably illegal in much of Europe. Therefore, the codecs are typically given away free there. GPL OSs and open-source media players in Europe may therefore include the codecs free, without fear of prosecution.

[peanut butter]

if u r rilly worried about legal issues i would get linspire and install it through there as they have special rights with MS to use the WMP codecs and Libdvdccs2. but the fbi isint going to come after u just for installing a codec, they have better things to do.