🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <877@nddsun1.sps.mot.com> waters@nddsun1.sps.mot.com (Mike Waters) writes:

   >I would like to get an idea of who is going to be in line to sue me
   >for some trivial piece of software that I came up with on a Saturday
   >afternoon.

   No one - patent or no it simply isn't worth the trouble. Despite the
   hysteria.

I am certainly not familiar with patents and patent laws. I have a
question.  Do I violate the patent law if I dreamed up a new way to
implement some algorithm; wrote a program using that new method; and
distributed it free of charge, say, through USENET without knowing
that that `new' method had been patented long ago? Does my program
have to be implemented reasonably close to the patent before it
violates the patent law or same idea is good enough? What could be the
repercussions? How about using such a program. For example, MGR from
bellcore is a windowing system. From what I know, it does window
storing differently from X. The question is, I don't know whether it
violates any patents. Does the use of the program constitutes any
offenses (if it does violate some patents)?

Please don't say ask my lawyer. I don't have the money to hire a
lawyer.

I guess I should read the article in DDJ. Anybody cares to give me the
issue number and date?

Khun Yee
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Khun Yee Fung    clipper@csd.uwo.ca (Internet) 
Alternative: 4054_3267@UWOVAX.BITNET
Department of Computer Science
Middlesex College
The University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, N6A 5B7  CANADA