Original Post
I'm looking into speech codec and have come across iLBC and Speex as the main contenders for a low cost implementation. However, i'm confused and concerned about the licences. I am having a hard time understanding first of all whether iLBC is really free. There is a lot of old documentation floating around the interweb (c. 2004) but nothing is up to date. The code for a reference implementation is included in RFC3951 - does that mean that the code is free to use? I have implemented this in C# but I am now concerned about using it in a commercial application in case GIPS come knocking at my door. Can anyone explain clearly to me what the licence situation is with iLBC please? Now Speex claims to be free-er than a free thing, so why does it come attached to a license? This is true of all "free" software (my main bug bear) - if it's really free why does it have to be accompanied by such complex licence documents? Why can't the software just be released as do-what-you-want-with-it free? iLBC and Speex both seem very similar and seem to use similar technologies, which are patent free as I understand it. So what is it about iLBC that they (GIPS) can claim any patent/licence? Please help me to understand.... Thanks
