XVID HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN AS REALMAGIC STEALS CODEC.

[baker]

COPIED FROM A DIVX SITE:

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Posted: 2002-08-22 20:04

People call DXN evil. But they have no idea what evil is. You want evil! I'll give you evil! Just check the front page of http://www.xvid.org/

Yes it is true. Sigma Designs are a bunch of lying bastards! They stole the Xvid source code for themselves! And they refuse to comply with the GPL license of Xvid. Not only are they making their own crappy closed source codec based mostly on the Xvid source. They are selling it! They just licensed opensource software to envivo! I can tell ya those guys at envivo got ripped off. Paying and licensing software they could have gotten free or much cheaper.

We have had well known infringements on the GPL in the past. But nothing with the scale we see here. Usually it is some lone coder pulling this stuff with GPL code for their program. And in the end they are generally quick to reform and comply with the GPL. The company denies that it stole from Xvid and flat out refuses to comply with the GPL. These are not baseless claims either. At the end of June beginning of July when the Sigma Designs codec was released it was noticed how similar it was to Xvid. A month later after some intensive forensic dissasembly and comparrison of the code Sigma Designs was not only found to be close to Xvid. Many parts of it were stock Xvid!!

I would ask that DXN cut their relations with Sigma whatever they may be. I realise DXN is jonsing for an infusion of capital but they shold no longer associate with Sigma. DXN has had image problems in the past. Well this stands to dwarf those minor inconviniences. Drop em DXN.

To all users. Boycott Sigma from this day foreward! If you just orderd your Xcard cancel it if you can. But from this day forth no one should order or use any product from Sigma. Even if you don't use Xvid this type of behavior should not be tollerated. It hurts everyone! I want everyone from this day foreward to spread the news and help run Sigma Designs out of business. Unless they choose to comply with the license that is. Lets make an example of them. I know we can do it. The sooner Sigma Designs is finished the sooner the Xvid coders will get back to work.

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I tought the xvid codec had real goods going for it and tought it was goiong to overtake divx. apparently now though this can't happen.

Baker

[Chyron]

From Divx.Com

We support XVID. You should too.

The XVID team has announced that they are halting development, and that's a real shame. Sigma Designs has allegedly taken the XVID code, rebranded it, and released the code as their own REALmagic MPEG-4 Video Codec without giving credit to the XVID authors or adhering to the terms of the General Public License (GPL).

The DivX team strongly supports the XVID team in their struggle to protect the integrity of their project. The XVID authors deserve better than to have the code they've worked so hard on used and sold without their permission. And while we're at it, let's set the record straight: Sigma Designs' products are not compatible with DivX video, but they continue to promote their products using our DivX(tm) trademark despite our repeated requests to stop. We haven't had much more luck with them than XVID, and we no longer have any relationship with Sigma Designs.

[baker]

Can't we do something? Can they be shut down or even better sued by divx and xvid?

Baker