NeoMedia Technologies, Inc (NEOM)

[success622]

This post of Houdini's seems very enlightening:
(from the second link you posted)
Seems most of Scanbuy is actually someone else's product, and they bring nothing to the table themselves? As well they are infringing on NeoMedia IP

Houdini comments:

Scanbuy´s core solution 2D barcode, which it calls “EZcode”, and its code generator (encoder) and decoder application which it calls “Scanlife”, are available for free on the Internet under the name their creator gave them, Visualcodes.

It is not a Scanbuy proprietary solution. It was not developed by Scanbuy Inc., and it is not Scanbuy´s exclusive software.

The real name of this 2D code and complete project is Visualcodes.

The complete project source code (decoder and encoder) is available for free download on the Internet. This project is still being updated by its authors, university students Beat Gfeller and Michael Rohs.

Here is a link to the Visualcodes project:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/visualcodes/

“The goal of this project is the development of a visual code system for camera-equipped mobile phones. It will recognize 2-D visual codes and compute the orientation of the phone relative to the codes. The software will be written in C++ for Symbian OS.”

“Project Admins: rohs

Operating System: Handheld/Embedded Operating Systems

License: GNU Library or Lesser General Public License (LGPL)

Category: WAP, Digital Camera, Human Machine Interfaces, Distributed Computing”

The full version of the package with the latest updates can be found at Helsinki University ( http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/) Note the “readme” file dates.

http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/group/context/latest/source/

http://visualcodes.cvs.sourceforge.net/visualcodes/cpp-src/README.txt?view=markup

2) Anyone can generate real time 2D Visualcodes on the Internet

Here’s a link to a Visualcode generator:

http://www.inf.ethz.ch/personal/rohs/visualcodes/

Note that this encoder program is not under Scanbuy´s controlled gateway. That creates a serious security problem for commercial solutions (commerce, promotions, etc.) that must keep the printing of the 2D codes under the control and management of a Gateway/Administrator module.

You can by creating your own open-source barcode confirm for yourself that Scanbuy’s “Ezcode” is Visualcodes:

• Generate your code, bypassing the Scanbuy controled gateway access, directly from ETH Zurich University at http://www.inf.ethz.ch/personal/rohs/visualcodes/

• Download the decoding software Scanbuy provides at www.scanbuy.com .

• Decode the open-source Visualcode using the commercial Scanbuy 2D solution.

It works perfectly, performing decimal and hexadecimal decoding. As it should, visualcode and Scanbuy’s code are one and he same. Scanbuy did not make any changes to the functionality of the Visualcodes software, the decoder and code generator.

Note that anyone can install the code generator on their PC. The decoding software source code is also freely available.

3) Scanbuy cannot claim to own the software it is offering to sell.

The Visualcodes project is a university Open Source Project. The software package is released as a GNU Library or Lesser General Public License ( GPL / LGPL).

Scanbuy cannot make any claim of proprietary right of a GPL / LGPL software. GPL and LGPL software can be changed and commercialized, but must remain totally available to the public as open source software (GPL / LGPL). Any modifications are required to be placed under the GPL / LGPL software license, and the original author must be identified.

Is Scanbuy doing that? No they are not !

Once software has been released under the GPL or LGPL, it cannot be retroactively changed and made proprietary

Houdini

Houdini said this on March 6th, 2007 at 10:50 pm