Re: RTLinux patent
On Mon, Oct 16, 2000 at 06:45:58PM -0500, owinebar@free-expression.org wrote:
> Furthermore, in regards to the DSFG being limited to copyright
> restrictions, all I see is: Derived Works The license must allow
> modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed
> under the same terms as the license of the original software.
Are you saying this is not the case with rtlinux? Seems to me that
modified rtlinux can be distributed under the same terms as rtlinux.
More generally, patents are an intractable problem for free software.
Many patents have dubious viability (for example: often prior art exists).
Note that in the U.S., a patent examiner's chances for advancement are
based on how many patents they've approved. Prior art isn't even an issue
in that context (except that denying a patent based on the existence of
prior art would tend to reduce the number of patents which are approved).
Also, it is impossible to guarantee that any piece of software is
completely free of any patent.
So, we basically ignore patent issues unless the patent holder becomes
troublesome. Then we decide what to do on a case by case basis.
--
Raul
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