[PLUG] Fedora or Red Hat (or OSX)

[Elliott Mitchell]

> From: AthlonRob <AthlonRob at axpr.net>
> On Fri, 2003-12-12 at 09:08, Carla Schroder wrote:
> > 5. Linux developers are valiantly reverse-engineering and writing 
> > drivers anyway. But supporting this free labor pool with specs and 
> > product is, somehow, Wrong.
> 
> One interesting perspective on drivers I read a little while ago had to
> do with Patents.  It may have been here, so this may all be a rerun. 
> Patents are so crazy these days, everything is patented.  You cannot
> design a piece of hardware today without inadvertently stepping on a
> half dozen patents.  If they released the specs of the hardware so OSS
> writers could design drivers for it, you would also be opening up enough
> of the hardware to the public so your competitors could see where you
> accidentally stepped on their patent and then... you get sued.



In a message from Tim Roberts of XFree86 notoriety. Archived at:

http://www.mail-archive.com/devel@xfree86.org/msg02231.html

-----8<-----------------------------------------------------------8<-----
Unfortunately, "interesting" and "meaningful" are NOT among the criteria used
by the US Patent and Trademark Office in awarding patents.  The fact is most
chip companies DO hold patents on some peculiar aspect of their chips, and
they have to pretend to protect them in order to maintain their usefulness.

Most people don't realize how much the patent business has turned from being
an invention protector into one big Pokemon game.  Company A decides to
attack Company B.  They lay down three of their patents in the Pokemon arena
and say, "AHA!, you violate these patents, please pay me a million a year or
I'll sue."

Company B goes back to their Pokedex, chooses three likely candidates from
THEIR patent portfolio, and responsd "AHA!, you are violating OUR patents!
Sign this cross-licensing agreement or my Charizard's flame thrower attack
will turn you to ashes."

The two companies sign the agreement in order to avoid the court system, put
their patents back into their Pokeballs, and life goes on.  They have to have
patents in order to make their Pokemon card deck strong enough to survive
battles like that.

Of course, this is all anathema to the open source and free software
movements.

This e-mail also demonstrates that my children have spent WAY too much time
with Pokemon.
-----8<-----------------------------------------------------------8<-----


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