Re: The political decision about non-free
John Hasler wrote:
> Carlos Perelló Marín writes:
>> We don't have software patents in Europe...
>
> It appears that Unisys disagrees with you. Do you want Debian to be a
> test
> case?
Well, being a test case isn't all bad -- someone has to do it, on civil
rights issues like this -- but it does mean you have to get a hell of a lot
of legal support.
> The US export controls were probably invalid as well, but Debian
> did not defy them.
It's not nearly as clear a case as the EPO, which has simply been violating
its own laws. :-(
> While the LZW patents will expire soon, there are likely to be other
> reasons to need non-eu (as well as non-us, non-jp, non-ca...). IMHO it is
> not reasonable to declare something non-free just because it is restricted
> in a few countries, whether one of those countries is the US or not.
Indeed.
--
Nathanael Nerode <neroden at gcc.gnu.org>
US citizens: if you're considering voting for Bush, look at these first:
http://www.misleader.org/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arar/
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/politicsandscience/
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