Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] Patents on some Linux OS code
From: Paul Davis (paul_AT_linuxaudiosystems.com)
Date: Wed Dec 08 2004 - 20:26:15 EET
>> 4) The end user is not responsible for what patent issues the producer
>> might get involved with.
>
>Many companies thinks that it is, the SCO vs DaimlerCrysler case (because of
>they use Linux) is an example, that case is because of copyright but surely
>will be many like that because of patents.
The SCO vs. DCC case is, as far as I can tell, more or less
over. Almost none of the original material is still up for court
decision making, merely whether DCC responded promptly enough to a
message from SCO. None of the SCO related cases have been about
patents.
The only company I know of to have been persistently involved in
patent lawsuits over software is Microsoft, both as a plaintiff and
defendant, and they have lost several cases already.
There is very little patent-related legal activity in the software
world right now, precisely because (1) the USA is the only
jursidiction in which s/w patents even exist and (2) a very large
fraction of the US s/w patents that might be used are dubious at best,
laughable at worst, and bringing them to court could expose the
ridiculous nature of the s/w patent system, which would be bad for
most involved parties.
--p
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Wed Dec 08 2004 - 20:30:27 EET