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Assisting a member in a different thread about creating a Bluray disc from home-videos I realized that there is still no write support for UDF versions 2.5 and 2.6, which is essential for creating Bluray video discs that run in a standalone player. I was surprised about that, those standards are from 2003 (UDF 2.5) and 2005 (UDF 2.6).
Actually, I found only one tool that is used for crating UDF filesystems, mkudffs, which is a part of udftools. The development of udftools seems to have stopped in 2007.

My question: Why do we still not have UDF in those "new" versions? Are there legal implications? Or is simply nobody interested in developing support for that?

I can't say but this has been sitting her for a few days.

At first glance, I'd be wondering why newfs_udf code from NetBSD can't be ported. I didn't look at the needed files so I can only guess some lib hasn't been ported.

I was sure I read some article as to why it has problems. It was on some common tech site but I can't remember where.

Also shocked that Haiku-OS has support as claimed by wiki.

Thanks for the hint about newfs_udf. But I wasn't able to determine if it supports the necessary UDF levels with write support. Linux in fact supports UDF 2.5 (AFAIK), but read-only and UDF 2.01 (write support). I just wonder why an OS like Linux, that is used for literally hundreds of multimedia devices, still is not able to create a file-system that is crucial for creating video discs of the (nowadays) only standard of HD video consumer material. Especially when it is so old. It seems to me that it took less time to develop ntfs-3g than UDF 2.5 or 2.6.
And I really just ask because I am curious, I don't even have a Bluray device. What is the problem in letting Linux people create Bluray video discs?

I wish I could remember that article. It had the reasons but that may have been 2 years ago.

I might have time this weekend to see about newfs_udf.

Maybe someone else may have some clues.

I don't have a Bluray drive, much less a BD-RE drive. I do not want to buy a device I cannot legally use to watch media I legally own.

I suspect very few, if any, Linux developers with the prerequisite skills have BD-RE drives in their Linux machines.

How? Using a hand-held laser pointer and plastic plates?

The real problem is that the devices are nearly impossible or illegal to fully utilize in Linux. In Finland, there is no legal way to watch legal Bluray movies in a legal Bluray drive. The only legal use is related to backups, and then UDF support is irrelevant. As a developer, I am not going to make myself a target for any of the dishonest litigation-happy Intellectual Property Associations. It is just not worth it.

Very few people master Blu-ray discs. I don't think any of them are Linux or FLOSS developers.

I suspect that unless some of the users decide to provide the developers with devices, testing, and some sort of support against those IP mafia organizations, UDF support is not going to be worked on at all. It is just not worth it for the developers; too much risk with very little to no reward. Just look at what happened to Дми́трий Вита́льевич Скля́ров -- and that was ten years ago, when the world was much more free than today.