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Debian, SFLC Publish Patent Advice For Community Distros

Posted by timothy on from the in-short-just-say-no dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Debian Project is pleased to announce the availability of the Community Distribution Patent Policy FAQ, a document meant to educate Free Software developers, and especially distribution editors, about software patent risks. The FAQ has been prepared by lawyers at Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) at the request of and with input from the Debian Project. While the document does not constitute legal advice, it provides insights on dealing with software patents, which might be applicable to other community-driven Free Software distributions. The Debian Project maintains a critical stance towards software patents: we consider software patents a threat to Free Software and we believe they provide no advantages in promoting software innovation."

2 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Patents != Monopoly by rtfa-troll · · Score: 3, Informative
    Monopoly 1 exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action 2 exclusive possession or control 3 a commodity controlled by one party

    Definition 2 definitely doesn't need market power. Please don't confuse a "monopoly" (english language word) with being found guilty of abusing an "illegal monopoly" (legal term) which requires a much more stringent standard.

    --
    =~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
  2. The danger of software patents. by archebyte · · Score: 3, Informative

    Richard Stallman's lecture on patents is worth listening to get an understanding of the real issue and some history on how some software patent cases have played out. http://audio-video.gnu.org/audio/#2011 Scroll to 'The danger of software patents.'