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Patents and User Protection In OSS

Posted by Zonk on from the keeping-things-on-the-up-and-up dept.

missing_myself writes "Linux.com has nice summary on 'How major distributions are dealing with potential violations of patents and trademarks, cryptography, packaging proprietary software and consequential damages' from Bruce Byfield (a journalist from OSTG)." From the article: "Slowly, some commercial distributions are taking a different route. In the last few years, indemnification has become an increasingly important issue in FOSS communities, largely because of the SCO-IBM case. Claiming ownership of Unix, SCO alleges that IBM has allowed copyrighted code to pass from System V Unix to GNU/Linux. Although no evidence has been released and the trial is not scheduled until February 26, 2007, the issues in the case have made both commercial and community FOSS participants reevaluate their practices."

2 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. February 26, 2007 by Caspian · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Yes, you read that right.

    This whole fucking mess won't make it to court until FEBRUARY TWENTY-SIXTH, TWO THOUSAND SEVEN .

    And people wonder why spammers and virus writers and spyware companies get away scot-free? This case hase been going on for, what, half a decade now (or it sure seems like it...), and it's not going to court until OVER A YEAR FROM NOW?

    The wheels of justice in this country must turn at a speed that makes the Space Shuttle crawlers look like a Formula 1 car.

    --
    With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
  2. ta3co by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

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