On Tue, Jul 12, 2005 at 10:25:03PM -0500, Christofer C. Bell wrote: > On 7/12/05, Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org> wrote: > > On Tue, Jul 12, 2005 at 05:34:45PM -0700, Michael K. Edwards wrote: > > > If I were you I would be very, very cautious about inviting the SFLC > > > to hang its first test case on my project. I speak as someone with no > > > legal qualifications but with a certain amount of research under my > > > belt, including an eventually successful (after repeated office > > > actions) patent filing (whose economic rights I do not now own) that > > > certain uses of software in Debian probably infringes. IANAL, TINLA, > > > YMMV. > > So we're supposed to take the word of a self-professed collaborator with the > > current illegitimate patent regime, over the word of someone who works for > > an organization dedicated to fighting this threat to intellectual freedom? > > Why would we do that? > Because the "current illegitmate patent regime" is the law. No, it is not. Portfolios of invalid patents hold their value by means of FUD and financial might, not law. > Failure to comply with the law can (and does) lead to negative > consequences for the person not in compliance. And fear to exercise one's rights under law also has negative consequences for society as a whole. -- Steve Langasek postmodern programmer
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