Patent-free software where it makes sense

[Josh Boyer]

On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 9:28 AM, Alex Puchades <alex94puchades at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi, my name is Alex and I've been a Fedora user for a long time. Also, I'm
> quite new to this list. I know a lot of people (myself included) that agree
> with Fedora not integrating propietary software into the system, as Ubuntu
> does in many different ways, especially in the installer. To put things
> clear, I'd never advocate for that.
>
> However, there's one issue I think deserves a little more consideration.
> There is another kind of software that is perfectly fine free software but
> is also excluded from a default Fedora install. That is, patent encumbered
> software. As you know, there are some patents that are not valid outside USA
> (ie: subpixel rendering, MP3). That software is provided in third-party
> repositories like RPMFusion in the form of "-freetype" packages.
>
> The lack-by-default of these packages presents a clear usability issue for
> non-quite-that-technical users and it greatly hurts the user experience for
> everyone. So, is there any way that Fedora could enforce this patent-free
> position where it makes sense (the USA), but includes it (or at least gives
> the user the option at installation time) if allowed by local laws?

This has been discussed many many times over the years.  The problem
you highlight is accurate, but the answer, in short, is no.

josh