Re: [Debian-uk] Sun have (probably) patented apt-get
Quoting Rich Walker <rw@shadow.org.uk>:
> Stephen Birch <sgbirch@imsmail.org> writes:
>
>>> On 4 Jul 2005, at 11:44 am, Wookey wrote:
>>> Take a look at this patent (granted this week in europe)
>>>
>>> http://gauss.ffii.org/PatentView/EP1170667
>>>
>>> I'm fairly sure that apt-get and associated package-integratity
>>> checking tools could be considered infringing. (Does dpkg/apt have
>>> a modular structure?)
>>
>> It seems that when RMS cried "the sky is falling" [this time regarding
>> patents] he was, once again, absolutely correct. Software patents are
>> the single biggest threat not only to the open source movement but
>> also to small/medium sized software companies.
>
> Note that this particular patent is:
> EP Status: Granted. Within 9 month opposition window
>
> So if you have *proof of prior art* you can oppose the patent grant
>
> In practical terms, this means someone who can "prove" that the Debian
> Packaging system does this. Which probably means an Official
> Debian Person sending the letter, with dates of when the technology was
> introduced into Debian, and perhaps extracts from the Packaging Manuals
> of the period to show this.
YEARS (!) ago I wrote the script that did the pre-upgrades to 'bo' (I _think_
it was to 'bo' any way :). It basically only ftp'd (or was it wget?)
required packages from the Debian GNU/Linux FTP site(s), installed them
and then allowed the user/admin to continue with the upgrade...
Now, that seems like 'prior art' to me (even to apt-get :).
--
nitrate quiche Kennedy NSA Honduras Uzi kibo smuggle NORAD munitions
ammunition cryptographic Marxist cracking KGB
[See http://www.aclu.org/echelonwatch/index.html for more about this]
Reply to: