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Huge ramifications.Huge ramifications.Posted Apr 21, 2006 15:34 UTC (Fri) by Sombrio (guest, #26942)Parent article: Write Free Software, Pay $203,000 to Patent Holder (Right to Create)
This case is huge. If KAM wins this case that is the end of open source in America. None of us could take the risk of losing everything we own because we inadvertently infringed a patent when we open sourced something we did. Most of us wouldn't even take the risk of having to fight these kinds of battles. I certainly hope the FSF sees the implications of this case and provides Ben Jacobsen with the professional support he needs to win.
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Huge ramifications. Posted Apr 23, 2006 14:16 UTC (Sun) by kleptog (subscriber, #1183) [Link] It's moments like these that I wonder about the following clause in the EPLA (European Patent Litigation Agreement) which goes as follows:
Article 35 Limitations to the effects of the European patent
The rights conferred by a European patent shall not extend to:
This clause has existed in several agreements but it unclear if it exists in an agreement that actually passed. Also, the phrase "non-commercial" is not defined, but the obvious definition would mean open-source is safe by definition, although distributors who collect money would have a problem.
http://www.european-patent-office.org/epo/epla/pdf/agreem...
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