Are you sure you want to see the list? [LWN.net]

Are you sure you want to see the list?

Posted Aug 2, 2004 20:47 UTC (Mon) by BrucePerens (guest, #2510)
In reply to: Linux Scare Tactics (Forbes) by rsidd
Parent article: Linux Scare Tactics (Forbes)

You can see the list. You may be contaminated afterward and exposed to triple damages if you infringe because you would then be knowingly infringing. Any volunteers? Those of you who don't get involved in software development might be reasonably safe ones. I can set you up with the right people. For the protection of everyone else, I would ask that you not publish stuff that could contaminate others. But that should be easy enough.

By the way: I'm not going to look at that list, I do too much software development.

Bruce

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Posted Aug 2, 2004 21:14 UTC (Mon) by sbergman27 (guest, #10767) [Link] (2 responses)

I agree that we need the infrastructure in place ahead of time. However, the fact is, for whatever reason, Linux has not yet been the target of patent suits. They may be on the way, but where are they? Linux is already stepping on a lot of proprietary toes and we are not seeing the rash of suits that people have been predicting since the mid 1990's.

My point is, why are we starting off the scare mongering ourselves? Why are we adding (what is it? $150,000?) to the cost of using Linux in the absence of a real and present problem. The only reason I can see is that it's good for OSRM's bottom line. I've not seen anything indicating a nonprofit status for OSRM.

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Posted Aug 3, 2004 5:10 UTC (Tue) by BrucePerens (guest, #2510) [Link] (1 responses)

Well, all of the conditions are in place for someone to start the lawsuits with a bang. A big bang. If MS were to do it, I'm sure they would pattern it after the RIAA and file 500 at once.

It may be that they continue to wait until the software patenting situation in Europe firms up. But if some little twerps like SCO could do what they did, I'm not going to sit around and think that the patent lawsuits might never come.

Bruce

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Posted Aug 3, 2004 13:53 UTC (Tue) by pdsdst (subscriber, #19395) [Link]

They must wait or else the negative impact of the EPO version of the patent directive on the European economy will become all too clear for the politicans. Currently most of them think software patents are good because the US seems to be doing just fine (remember, they are not programmers and much closer to lawyers in their thinking).

One thing to remember about European politicians though is that if they implement a stupid directive that later turns out to threaten EU jobs (directly or indirectly) they do have the resolv to change it. At least if it is a US company that is the threat.

Daniel

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Posted Aug 4, 2004 8:53 UTC (Wed) by viro (subscriber, #7872) [Link]

How elegant... So let me get it straight - you have not seen the
list; you won't look at it and neither should anybody doing software
development. May I ask who had created that list, what kind of
credentials do they have and how much do you really trust their
ability to analyse the code and accuracy of their conclusions?

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Posted Aug 4, 2004 15:16 UTC (Wed) by Oddly_Drac (guest, #23754) [Link]

> Any volunteers?

Sure. Until the US annexes England, I don't see much happening in terms of patent infringment until the rules are shoehorned thorugh the EU.

> For the protection of everyone else, I would ask that you not publish stuff that could contaminate others.

I take it that the EFF has received the list, or that someone is undertaking to notify the authors of potentially infringing software that they might want to investigate a different way of using method X, or are you suggesting that the problems are more fundamental?

> I'm not going to look at that list, I do too much software development.

How are you going to develop in the future? Hum loudly whenever anyone mentions a patent to get a 66% reduction in the final award?

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Posted Aug 10, 2004 1:38 UTC (Tue) by Olinda_Spider (guest, #22366) [Link]

You can see the list. You may be contaminated afterward and exposed to triple damages if you infringe because you would then be knowingly infringing. Any volunteers? Yes, I would like to see the list. How can I obtain it?

(Sorry for the delayed response, I was on vacation.)

Pat