From: Adam Flinton 

Randall Parker wrote:

> So then if this is such a problem then why isn't XFree86 already tied up
> in software patent suits in the USA?
>

Eventually the US software will be. Ask rich about IE following MS'es
recent loss wrt loadable components in websites patent.

We don't have s/w patents, don't want & won't have em. The fun part is
gong to be getting the US to see sense & ban em too.

Adam


> Rich Gauszka wrote:
>
>> from www.knoppix.org
>>
>> Closed because of "Software-Patents"
>> In the next few days, the European Parliament will decide about the
>> legalisation and adoption of so-called "software
patents" in Europe,
>> which
>> are already used by large companies in other countries to put competitors
>> out of business. This can lead to the termination of many software
>> projects
>> such as KNOPPIX, at least within Europe, because the holders of the over
>> 30,000 already granted "software patents" (currently
without a legal
>> foundation) can claim exclusive rights and collect license fees for
>> trivial
>> things like "progress bars", "mouseclicks on online
order forms",
>> "scrolling
>> within a window" and similar. That way, software developers will have
>> to pay
>> the "software-patentholders" for using these features,
even in their own,
>> completely self-developed applications, which can completely stall the
>> development of innovative software for small and medium companies. Apart
>> from this, the expense for patent inquiries and legal assistence is high,
>> for even trying to find out if the self-developed software is possibly
>> violating "software-patents", if you want to continue to
market your
>> software. Contrary to real patents, "software-patents" are, in the
>> current
>> draft, monopolization of business ideas and methods, even without any
>> tangible technical implementation.
>>
>> More about the current major problem at
>> http://swpat.ffii.org/index.en.html
>>
>>
>

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