"essential patent claims" in "covered works"
Posted Sep 27, 2006 10:02 UTC (Wed) by
xoddam (subscriber, #2322)
In reply to:
Some GPLv3 clarifications from the FSF by sveinrn
Parent article:
Some GPLv3 clarifications from the FSF
> No. It's enough that both IBM's version and my own "improved"
> version does XYZ, where XYZ is covered by the patent I need
> but don't want to pay for.
The paragraph in question reads:
> "You receive the Program with a covenant from each author and
> conveyor of the Program, and of any material, conveyed under
> this License, on which the Program is based, that the covenanting
> party will not assert (or cause others to assert) any of the party's
> essential patent claims in the material that the party conveyed,
> against you, arising from your exercise of rights under this License.
> If you convey a covered work, you similarly covenant to all
> recipients, including recipients of works based on the covered work,
> not to assert any of your essential patent claims in the covered
> work."
"the party's essential patent claims in the material that the party
conveyed" makes it pretty clear that it only refers to the version
distributed by the patent holder. The only *possible* ambiguity is that
the covenant is restated in the opposite direction ("you similarly
covenant...") in slightly less explicit language.
The term "covered work" can only sanely apply to any single version, not
to "the covered work as distributed by you, or any parent work from which
that work is derived, or any other work derived from any such parent
work". Such an interpretation allows frivolous and nonsense arguments
like "the FSF stole my whole patent portfolio".
In any case, if IBM has provided you with a GPLv3'd program and thus
covenants not to sue you for any patent claims implemented therein, what
difference does it make whether your exercise of such patents is in the
program as provided by IBM or as modified by you? From my reading, if
you implement anything *extra* for which IBM has a different "essential
patent claim", you're fair game.
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