Can somebody explain this to me? How can this patent exist when in 1998 there were applets / plugins running inside Netscape Navigator doing all the things the patented method does
The patent was filed in 1994 for "so-called" invention done in 1993. More info
here.
I find this ruling frightening. The above page points to prior/concurent art and if MS cannot win its case, who will? Mozilla, Opera, Konqueror? Who is next on Eoals diary?
It may be one more blattant proof of the stupidity of current patent laws in US but applets and other embedded programs are now subject to patent in HTML. So you cannot implement the HTML spec (which is supposed to be an open spec) in the US whithout a license or being subject to a law suit.
I am still uneasy with many/.ers interpretation of the case. Ok the server is located in the US, but what does this imply? The guys running it edict their rules which must comply to the US laws. These rules are about
what content is allowed;
how much it costs to use the service;
how to connect, upload data,...
...
But they do not forbid you to give your access rights to someone else and have her add/remove content (as long as the new content is deemed legal).
So what happened here, an italian guy, living in Italy, has an account on a US based server. The italian police goes after him, ask him his username/password, he gives them and then the police connects to the server and changes the content of the site as would/could have done a friend of the guy. Where do you see anything illegal under US laws here?
For me the question is: was the italian police allowed UNDER ITALIAN LAWS to act as it did? I don't kown the answer. If it is yes, you may not like it but all can be done is having the italian people change their laws if they want to.
Saying the the italian police has no right, under US laws, to erase the web site that is ouside Italy is saying that the guy does not own the content of his site which now belongs to the US based compagny.
This is your opinion and you are entitled to have it but if i understand it correctly it means that if i write some insanity on the wall of your house i could (and should) be prosecuted but you have no right to clean them...
If we ever needed an evidence that some US citizens are Ameri-centric assholes, we do not need to look any futher. Who are you to say that you have the definition of free speech and that you are entitled to impose it to the rest of the world?
Do you really believe that one can say whatever he wants in the US? If so, please grow up man!
Slashdot Mirror
Offering virtual desktops is good but it would be better if the feature was usable.
- what content is allowed;
- how much it costs to use the service;
- how to connect, upload data,...
...
But they do not forbid you to give your access rights to someone else and have her add/remove content (as long as the new content is deemed legal).So what happened here, an italian guy, living in Italy, has an account on a US based server. The italian police goes after him, ask him his username/password, he gives them and then the police connects to the server and changes the content of the site as would/could have done a friend of the guy. Where do you see anything illegal under US laws here?
For me the question is: was the italian police allowed UNDER ITALIAN LAWS to act as it did? I don't kown the answer. If it is yes, you may not like it but all can be done is having the italian people change their laws if they want to.
Saying the the italian police has no right, under US laws, to erase the web site that is ouside Italy is saying that the guy does not own the content of his site which now belongs to the US based compagny.
This is your opinion and you are entitled to have it but if i understand it correctly it means that if i write some insanity on the wall of your house i could (and should) be prosecuted but you have no right to clean them...
If we ever needed an evidence that some US citizens are Ameri-centric assholes, we do not need to look any futher. Who are you to say that you have the definition of free speech and that you are entitled to impose it to the rest of the world?
Do you really believe that one can say whatever he wants in the US? If so, please grow up man!