[waveman2]

> You consider the idea of treating compression loss as an error to be patched as non-obvious, whereas to most on HN (being generally technical, even if not in this field), that's probably, a "yeah, duh, and?" suggestion.

I actually implemented this idea in some of my own software, was unaware that it had been patented in some context, and did not consider it particularly remarkable. I remember thinking "that's kind of neat", the way you do a few times a day when writing software.

[josephlord]

'that's kind of neat' is exactly the feeling of an inventive step in my view when it is a new way of doing things. I do get some of that feeling when programming but that is usually discovering and picking tools put there by the language designers and I wouldn't expect to patent them.

This patent is inherently limited in the amount a license would be worth as it is possible to work around it by sending the full enhanced stream by the other distribution method. In practice this simple way of doing things has proved practical in most cases as available bandwidths have increased.

I also trust the BBC not to abusively troll small companies and startups. Unlike with trademarks you can ignore widespread infringement without losing your rights. The BBC (at the time, I don't know about now) was mostly interested in having a worthwhile patent portfolio for cross licensing mostly for defensive use.

I am personally curious about where you used this although it is probably wiser not to tell me. It may be that some detail makes it non-infringing. It may also be that the BBC would offer a reasonable license although approaching them may be risky in itself. I don't know if a lawyer or other intermediary could negotiate without revealing who the negotiation is on behalf of until agreement is reached.