[linux-audio-dev] Re: Patents on some Linux OS code

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Subject: [linux-audio-dev] Re: Patents on some Linux OS code
From: Juhana Sadeharju (kouhia_AT_nic.funet.fi)
Date: Mon Dec 20 2004 - 19:59:35 EET


>From: Erik de Castro Lopo
>
>When and if you get a cease and desist letter you do the
>following:
>
> 0) Get the patent holder to provide enough information for you to
> figure out if you might infinge or not.

They don't do that. It is all written in the patent already.

> 1) If you are out of jurisdiction you may want to disregard the
> patent anyway.

Court decides if you're out.

> 2) Get the patent documents and see if the patent can be challenged.

Wastes time and money. You may not even understand the patent text.

>From: "Pedro Lozano"
>
>Thats the problem with sw patents, having to worry about all these legal
>things, working around patents, finding prior art, etc etc I don't thinks
>that's any good for a programmer or a small company.

For the prior art I have a bold solution: all published material
should be freely available, legally or not. Soon one finds punch
of volunteers who are willing to browse all that material for
finding prior art. That won't happen if they would have to spend
$$$$$$ in purchasing the materials first.

Patent offices are leaving the prior art browsing for us -- if
you have seen how infrequently they refer outside the patent
database. Somebody gotta loose and I prefer the publishers
rather than us.

Juhana

-- 
  http://music.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-graphics-dev
  for developers of open source graphics software


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