Article View: uk.comp.os.linux
Article #1206Re: Software patents
From: john
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 00:00
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 00:00
23 lines
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2549 bytes
Joel Peterson writes: > I think courts are lenient if the defendents can show that they made > reasonable efforts to comply with existing patents. Only in that they may rule that the infringement was accidental and award minimal damages. They will still forbid the defendent to distribute or use her program, and she will still have to pay her lawyer. In practice, she will receive a letter from IBM's lawyers informing her that her program infringes one of IBM's patents and that unless she immediately ceases distributing it and destroys all copies they will sue. She will rush to her lawyer, who will tell her that even if she wins the legal expenses will far exceed the total of all future revenues from the program and so the sensible thing to to is surrender. And he'll bill her $1000. If they think the program is interesting IBM may demand that all rights to it be signed over to them. -- John Hasler This posting is in the public domain. john@dhh.gt.org Do with it what you will. Dancing Horse Hill Make money from it if you can; I don't mind. Elmwood, Wisconsin Do not send email advertisements to this address.
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X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 1103af,4460b3faefba3773 X-Google-Attributes: gid1103af,public X-Google-Thread: 10d8ad,4460b3faefba3773 X-Google-Attributes: gid10d8ad,public X-Google-Thread: fa692,5c442900c2af201f X-Google-Attributes: gidfa692,public X-Google-Thread: fcfb9,942a0596db2b8174 X-Google-Attributes: gidfcfb9,public X-Google-Thread: fea0e,5c442900c2af201f X-Google-Attributes: gidfea0e,public X-Google-Thread: 10e97a,5c442900c2af201f X-Google-Attributes: gid10e97a,public X-Google-Thread: 1025b4,942a0596db2b8174 X-Google-Attributes: gid1025b4,public From: john@dhh.gt.org Subject: Re: Software patents Date: 1998/10/10 Message-ID: <87n2748cva.fsf@hasler.dhh> X-Deja-AN: 399754746 X-Nntp-Posting-Host: hasler.dhh Sender: john@hasler.dhh References: <F0B8I1.475@a2e.de> <907546762snz@vision25.demon.co.uk> <v8wk92dflo7.fsf@huis-clos.mit.edu> <m3btnnd7pj.fsf@c26469-a.clnvl1.ct.home.com> <v8wbtnmra51.fsf@huis-clos.mit.edu> <m3u31epev9.fsf@c26469-a.clnvl1.ct.home.com> <361ECCE9.A9EEED82@odin-consulting.com> <v8waf34nc33.fsf@M66-080-10.mit.edu> <362215c6.1954540@news.demon.co.uk> <361F915E.55542853@odin-consulting.com> Organization: Dancing Horse Hill Newsgroups: uk.comp.os.linux,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.society.futures,comp.os.linux.advocacy,uk.politics.misc,uk.politics.economics,gnu.misc.discuss