Can you spell "patent"?

Can you spell "patent"?

Posted Nov 7, 2006 23:58 UTC (Tue) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322)
In reply to: Red Hat downplays Novell/Microsoft deal (ArsTechnica) by tetromino
Parent article: Red Hat downplays Novell/Microsoft deal (ArsTechnica)

Mono has a big grey patent-shaped cloud hanging over it, always has. If
Microsoft is getting any value at all out of its patents, then it is
implementing them in the .NET framework. Mono implements the same
framework. If Mono is an implementation of any Microsoft patent -- and
it's only an 'if' because the stupid way the law works means it's better
not to ask in case you get caught "knowingly" infringing -- and if
Microsoft has not licenced the patent to all users of Mono, then Mono is
not free software and it would be safest for free software packagers not
to distribute it.

Now for all I know the Novell-Microsoft agreement involves a
no-strings-attached patent licence for all Mono users, in which case the
patent cloud over Mono has actually been *lifted* and it's good news for
all users.

Mono is a neat piece of software. Don't go listing features of Mono that
have nothing to do with the real, well-known patent problem as potential
reasons for commentators to "hate" it. There's a lot less hate around
here than some people seem to think :-)

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