Re: Article: IBM wants to "clean up the license" of Linux

C S Hendrix (shendrix@escape.widomaker.com)
Sun, 20 Dec 1998 16:16:54 -0500


In message <m0zrqQW-0007U3C@the-village.bc.nu>, Alan Cox writes:

> > What the free software community needs isn't so much a way of "buying
> > into" some kind of partial rights to software patents, but a horde of
> > people finding prior art, to defend free software.
>
> Thats I think the wrong approach. If US patents are like EU patents you
> sign an affidavit that what you claim is the truth. It would be far
> more effective to start finding clearly bogus patents and sueing the
> lacky who signed their name to it for perjury.

I'm pretty sure that you submit these things ``to the best of your
knowledge'' like many contracts, which means you have to prove they
really knew this at the time. I think finding prior art would be
easier, but both methods should be tried, depending on the exact
situation.

--
Shannon - shendrix@widomaker.com - www.widomaker.com - Linux 2.0.x
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"The trade of governing (and management, ed.) has always been
monopolized by the most ignorant and the most rascally individuals
of mankind.  Thomas Paine"

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