On Thu, 2003-12-04 at 16:03, Casper Hornstrup wrote:
sigh...
Looks pretty bad, actually. We're going to have to think about this. This patent really can't be licensed for use with a GPL'd operating system unless the fundamental terms are changed.
CDs and DVDs would still be usable, and floppy disks might be if we don't implement any patented things (FAT existed in 1985, and all those patents are expired now).
Things could get really sticky with digital cameras, mp3 players, etc...
I'd be curious to see how RMS would respond to this. Steven, would you care to run this by him?
Also, I fear that this is just the tip of the iceberg. MS also has a royalty deal on the website for ClearType, and I guarantee they have thousands of patents that cover all of the obvious things. I guess we'll just have to deal with them as they come up.
A quick US patent database search shows 2,884 patents assigned to MS since 1976. On further review, it appears that every single one has issued since 1986, meaning that every one of them is valid and enforcable.
Joy.
-Vizzini