Re: Software patents...

[Alvin Oga <aoga@ns.Linux-Consulting.com>]

On Thu, 3 Feb 2005, Ralph Crongeyer wrote:

> Does anyone on this list know about or where/who to find info about 
> software patents?
> My specific question is this: if I wrote a program my company that was 
> being used on a government project and then I left the company and 
> wanted to completely rewrite the code (it will do the same thing) and 
> patent it myself, is that legal?

< i aint no lawyer)
"patents" ... you have to be the first  .... not the copy cat (rewrite)
	so even if you were to pay some "expert lawyer $100M to get your
	new patent ... it'd be worthless in the long run since it 
	is "next generation" of what somebody else did

	- where their originl ideas end and where you new ideas start
	would depend on the govt contract and your employment terms

i think you mean copyright .. but even so ... depends on the terms of
the govt contract and your employement contract where you work when
they hired you...

	- usually they own anything and everything ... including what's 
	in your head that you gained from when you worked there
 	( its a touchy subject of what is "intellectual property"
	( vs just knowledge you get and remember... nobody can make
	( you forget what you know

- ALWAYS talk to a lawyer ... and pay them for their professional advice
</aint>

or if you want more "free" help, try debian-legal or other "sw mailing
lists"

c ya
alvin