I feel like a patent would’ve run out by now. From what I’m finding online, US patents generally only last 15-20 years. They might’ve filed it in a different country, and yesterday I read of a media codec patent lasting 25 years in Brazil.
But yeah, I believe that feature was in there before 2000 already, and they didn’t innovate on it since, which might’ve allowed for a new or renewed patent.
I feel like a patent would’ve run out by now. From what I’m finding online, US patents generally only last 15-20 years. They might’ve filed it in a different country, and yesterday I read of a media codec patent lasting 25 years in Brazil.
But yeah, I believe that feature was in there before 2000 already, and they didn’t innovate on it since, which might’ve allowed for a new or renewed patent.
It might also just be a pain to implement…