Re: Software patents and Debian

[Ben Finney <bignose+hates-spam@benfinney.id.au>]

Stephen Gran <sgran@debian.org> writes:

> This one time, at band camp, Ben Finney said:
> > Marco d'Itri <md@Linux.IT> writes:
> > > Still, the DFSG does not addrss patents.
> > 
> > The DFSG doesn't talk about any particular branch of law. It talks
> > about "the rights attached to the program" and other such
> > phrases. To the extent that those rights are granted or restricted
> > by holders of patents, the DFSG addresses patents.
> 
> Are you arguing that [...]
> If not, what are you arguing?

Merely that the DFSG addresses anything related to the rights attached
to things in Debian. To say "the DFSG doesn't address branch X of law"
is false if that branch of law is concerned with restricting or
granting rights to things we distribute in Debian.

I made no admonition as to what anyone "should do".

-- 
 \           "It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us in |
  `\      trouble. It's the things we know that ain't so."  -- Artemus |
_o__)                                  Ward (1834-67), U.S. journalist |
Ben Finney