Simo Sorce wrote:
Did I say already that USA has stupid law, which stops you from doing
useful things?
Because of one country's law we cannot use codecs etc.
I hope EU will not do such law.
FYI, the European Patent Office has awarded more than 30k (maybe we are
more on the 40k at this point as this datum is old) Software Patents.
|The legal status of such patents is uncertain but need to be ultimately
still fought patent by patent in court ...
I wish someone would pursue the argument that if you have a licensed
copy of the patented software technology in question you should be
allowed to use any other version of that same technology on the same
device. The theory that software should be covered by patents at all
relies on the argument that it models a device or process (otherwise it
is just math...). If you buy a patented device you are allowed to
modify it yourself and continue using its patented features. So, my
theory is that you should be able to take patented bits that you have
(as perhaps you might have gotten with the device in the form of drivers
for a different OS), and rearrange them into a different pattern of
bits that perform the same patented operation in a way that works better
for you. If you buy into the 'software as a model of a device' concept
as the basis of patented software at all, this seems to be the logical
equivalent of modifying your own licensed device.
Having to have a license to use some unique process is arguable
reasonable (though there are good arguments against..). Having to have a
different license for every version of every program under every OS that
does that same process on the same device is insane.
--
Les Mikesell
lesmikesell@xxxxxxxxx
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