Apparently Maui X-Stream is hyping their new product, The Zentu Platform, which is billed as the third generation of their VX30 Codec and a video encoding tool for streaming media. Riiiiight.
They've got a press release and everything.
*bangs head against desk* You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried, and I have a feeling when someone takes the time to deconstruct Ventu they'll find interesting things. For newer readers who don't understand why I'm mixing brandy with the coffee before noon after seeing this, the company behind Ventu has an.. interesting... history when it comes to their video encoders and other products.
The following links should be enough to get you up to speed, especially if you go in reverse chronology.
- MXS and CherryOS archives, where you'll want to start with The Pits in CherryOS.
And then the ones on VX30, which are more directly applicable to Zentu:
- MXS and VX30 archives, where you'll want to start with Deconstructing Maui X-Stream.
The stuff Jim Kartes and Arben Kryeziu pull makes my soul hurt, and it's made worse by the fact that I'm not supposed to talk much about them while some legal things still unravel. Thank god for Yano, who is the only IP lawyer I'm aware of running around in a Cow shirt on weekends.
posted on November 02, 2005 at 12:02 PMIt's worth clearing something that came up in my inbox regarding the last post before we get to the juicy parts below: Just because someone is selling something with GPL code, it doesn't mean they also have to offer the source files for everyone to download, but they do have to make it available for no more than a nominal fee to those they distribute it to. Usually, that fee is nonexistent.
By incorporating GPL'd code, the software becomes a derivative work, and when they distribute it they are binding themselves to the terms of the license the code they're using was released under.
This means that if they distribute to you a copy of VX30 in any form, and it contains GPL'd code, they must also make the source available to you for a nominal fee. If they are selling a product, and someone purchases it, that person has just had the software distributed to them and is now entitled to the source.
The reason the author of phpAdsNew has a problem with VX30 Ad-Stats and MXS is that they're claiming there's no GPL'd code in their VX30 products, and as you can see for yourself in a moment it would appear they've not only taken code from phpAdsNew and incorporated it into their product, they've stripped out all of the author's original copyright notices in the process.
I'm sure you can understand his anger.
Now, VX30 Ad-Stats is sold both on its own, or as part of a suite which also includes VX30 Live and VX30 Encoder. They've distributed many of the various VX30 products as trial and demo versions for people to use, and if there's GPL'd code in those anyone who received it from them is entitled to ask for the source.
Just because they're selling VX30 Ad-Stats doesn't mean they necessarily have to make the source available for download by just anyone. They haven't distributed anything to you unless you've purchased the software from them, or at least I'm unaware of any other way they're distributing VX30 Ad-Stats. However, if you purchase the software from them, they're distributing it to you, and you're entitled to the source.
Here's the rub: Once someone has the source, they're free to do whatever they please with it so long as they abide by the restrictions within the GPL. If someone wanted to then turn around and sell it for half what Maui X-Stream charges, they very well could.
They could even take that software and distribute it to anyone who wanted it, which is what we're going to do here:
- VX30 Ad-Stats Download (2.7 MB)
It was certainly helpful that they'd left the actual GNU license file in the directory. Someone would generally be free to take whatever they chose to from the VX30 Ad-Stats source and incorporate it into any project which had a GPL-compatible license, or even create a new project from it, although it doesn't solve the problem of the stripped copyright notices.
For comparative purposes, you might want to take a look at a recent version of the phpAdsNew source:
- phpAdsNew 2.0.4 pr2 (924 K)
My impression is the source above is newer than what VX30 Ad-Stats is using, but if you compare the above Ad-Stats source to the phpAdsNew source it's pretty clear it's a derivative work even if all of the original copyright notices have been removed. Changing a function name from phpAds_getBannerTemplate to AdStats_getBannerTemplate isn't exactly cloak and dagger.
One of the apps we talked about in Deconstructing MXS was the connection between VX30 Ad-Stats, MXS's server-side statistical software for keeping track of what's going on with your videos, and phpAdsNew, which is probably the most popular open-source advertising system in the world.
If you'll recall, we talked to Niels Leenheer, one of the authors of phpAdsNew, and he gave a run-down on the evidence that VX30 Ad-Stats was based upon his software. One of the problems was that all the evidence was gathered from MXS's user guide, as their 'online demo' of VX30 Ad-stats was down on MXS's website (and still is), and no known install to test against was available.
Around a week ago, Niels was able to find a live version of VX30 Ad-Stats on MXS's own website and do some testing, and just the few initial results he posted are horrifying in an oddly amusing way...
Maui X-Stream has posted an 'official statement' on their website regarding OSS-infringing code in their VX30 product lines. Because it's PDF, here is the text:
A Statement from Maui X-Stream re: VX30We have recently been asked whether VX30, Maui X-Stream’s video streaming software, is built on third-party code covered by a General Public License (GPL). The answer to that question is no. Some beta versions of VX30 were bundled with GPL code for purposes of testing product performance in specific customer usage scenarios. Maui X-Stream has completed that analysis and therefore no longer bundles GPL code with the current release of VX30.
VX30 is an original, proprietary product created over a three-year period by Maui X-Stream employees and contractors. The kernel of VX30 employs breakthrough innovations created by lead developer Arben Kryzieu. Maui X-Stream owns the copyright to VX30, and patents are pending on VX30 technology.
You might notice that this is an amazingly similar response to what we first saw with CherryOS, where they did admit to having code in earlier versions, but that everything is just fine now. For now, let's just ignore the whole 'beta' thing, and what they said in the publish.com article, as this much, much more amusing than that.
In the deluge of the feedback over the last few days, a lot of you are really curious about aspects of Deconstructing Maui X-Stream, and wondering where the usual 'redux' post is. They're generally good questions and curiosities, and they all have answers.
The problem is -- at least for all intents and purposes -- Maui X-Stream came out and told me they're trying to figure out how to punch me in the nose, and it's something I have to take into account.
When a lawsuit like this starts to get going, there is something called the 'discovery process' that has to take place. The discovery process is very time consuming and methodical process that is supposed to take the surprises out of a court room.
I get to see and know everything that may be relevant to the case, and vice-versa. Basically, it's expensive, and everything I answer would be admissible, used against me, and make it much easier and cheaper for the other side.
They may or may not actually follow up on their threats, but you really just have to assume they will, plan accordingly, and listen to the advice of your lawyer. What I can say is that everything is in there for a reason, and I do look forward to eventually putting out the usual 'redux' post.
Publish.com has a juicy piece up about 'Deconstructing Maui X-Stream', with quotes from Jim Kartes that you're going to have to read to believe.
The Cow says Publish.com may be having some issues with its servers, with the site being on and offline sporadically...Kartes went on to attack the company's critics. "Doesn't this all boil down to open-source people thinking they have the right to break laws by violating patent rights, but when developers use legal code, open-source people think they have the right to make their own laws. I've never quite understood this concept of open source and exactly where it came from," he said.
I'm really not sure what to make of most of it. Although I was asked to respond to a few things and did, I'll admit my jaw is still a little slack from comments like the above. Quotes like the following make it unclear to me whether they have actually read the post:
"A report from the Maui X-Stream's engineers forwarded to eWEEK.com claimed that "all the testing code was removed two months ago, [and] so that's why when people are downloading our software trying to find any evidence, they go back to decompiling the 2004 version, because they can't find any possible strings in our existing software."
If you look at the 'Verify for yourself, with mirrors' section, it's made clear that while the 2004 version is there, all of the instructions are geared towards working with the 'packed' 2005 version and how to get around it to view the evidence. Admittedly, the post is lengthy and could kill an afternoon, but one would think they'd have an interest and would make the time.
The server went offline a bit earlier, sorry for the inconvenience. It just got bogged down serving out the evidence concurrently. The page is already huge enough with a bunch of files, but:
- Having processes sucked up by a hundred people downloading a 200 meg .tar.gz file, some of which appear to be on dial-up put the hurt on
- I changed some things on the back-end to help the server cope with the above a bit better. However, a comment spammer took advantage of the raised level of connections to smack the site hard and because of how broken movabletype is in this area, once again it pretty much destroyed the server and created some corruption.
Basically, especially since I just added in a few more, while I whole-heartedly encourage you to duplicate the evidence for yourself please use the mirrors. :) And sorry if it seems like I'm off the grid. I'm paying attention, it's just hard to keep up with all the emails and such at the moment so I'm having to put it all in triage.
Another thing I've added to the last post is GEICO being a user of MXS's VX30 for its Video Library. GEICO is the uber-large insurance company with the gecko as its logo, whose commercials are on TV all the time (My favorite is 'robot'. I was hoping people would find stuff like this and send it in.
Not too long ago I received a letter from a William P. Kealy of Stuart & Branigin, LLP which you can see to the right, but for readability I've copied the contents into the text below:
"Re: drunkenblog.comDear Mr. Bell,
Stuart & Branigin represents Maui X-Stream, Inc. (MXS)
On Thursday, April 14, you phoned me. You refused to disclose your business address.
MXS customers report that you have contacted them. Those customers attribute to you statements about MXS and its products that are false. Speaking untruths to a third party is slander. A slanderer is liable for damages resulting from the slander. MXS's investigation to date gives MXS cause to believe that slanders by you have caused MXS to lose sales. MXS has authorized me to investigate legal action against you for those damages.
Please provide me immediately a list of MXS customers contacted by you and the dates on which the contacts occurred. Please also supply me the name of your counsel.
Very truly yours,
William P. Kealy"
It often takes me awhile to get stuff at the addy in my WHOIS, but I get it eventually just because of occassions like this. We'll get to my specific response to it in a bit, but for now let's just say one benefit to a video blog is that rude gestures don't translate in quite the same way via text.
Now, you may be curious as to why a company named Maui X-Stream (MXS) has a problem with me to the point where they're essentially telling me they're trying to figure out how to sue me, they happen to be the company that birthed CherryOS upon the world. CherryOS is the PowerPC emulator specifically geared for running Mac OS X on Windows machines, and detailing the claims regarding it by it's creator -- along with the CEO -- would take an entire chapter by itself.
If you'll recall, awhile back I wrote The Pits in CherryOS, and several follow-ups, detailing and explaining the evidence that CherryOS was really code from the open-sourced PowerPC emulator PearPC, along with infringing code from numerous other open-sourced projects.
Readers, I can tell you that I have never contacted an MXS customer that I'm remotely aware of, especially before I got this letter. It's completely bogus, but oh yes I've been digging, and the problems seemed to have arised when they realized just how deeply I and others were going. In this post, we'll go through exactly what I have done in the last while regarding Maui X-Stream, along with:
- Their legal threats against those finding the evidence, and why DrunkenBlog had to get a lawyer.
- The evidence of infringing GPL and LGPL programs within their VX30 products. Programs like XviD, LAME, Media Player Classic, phpAdsNew, and more.
- How the evidence was gathered, and how you can verify it for yourself.
- My three hour chat with Arben Kryeziu regarding VX30, CherryOS, the evidence of infringing code in their other commercial product called VX30, and a whole bunch of other goofy behavior.
- Much, much more.
This isn't a Mac, Linux or Windows thing. This is an OSS thing, along with a liberal sprinkling of 'what the hell were they thinking'. Open Source is becoming increasingly important across all platforms and all types of software, and chances are the computer allowing you to read this has some floating around inside it.
When people often give their all to create the software we work on, play on, and more and more frequently practically live on, the fruits of those efforts should be respected and -- if it comes to it -- protected. This isn't zealotry, it is just becoming fundamental.
Because the length and scope of this post demands it, this is the first post on the site with anchored chapter-thingies for when you need to find your way back:
- A quick primer of licenses and copyrights
- The licenses we'll be specifically dealing with
- Laying out VX30
- The cost and customers of VX30
- A note regarding Maui Online
- The VX30 patents
- Getting to know Mr. Kartes
- The evidence in VX30
- The XviD code
- The Media Player Classic code
- The LAME code
- The SHOUTcast code
- The CFileDropListCtrl code
- The JPEG code
- More weird leftovers
- VX30 Ad-Stats and phpAdsNew
- Finding the code in VX30
- A Cease and Desist
- Verify for yourself, with mirrors
- My representation
- Questioning playerless-streaming.org
- Arben and Crystal Kryeziu
- Making friends
- My 3 hour chat with Arben
- Jim Kartes needs a blankey
- Pinging Arben
- The Comsdev connection
- Do not taunt Happy Khalid Farooq
- That PowerPC Emulator
- They can penetrate our borders, but they cannot reach Baghdad
- PDFConv and PDF2HTML
- Recent events
- Wrapping up
