[Asterisk-Users] Digium and mailing lists

[jbebeau]

I second the motion....

If someone wants to test the legal system in their respective country...I
say go ahead.

For me $10 to Digium is cheap and I hope they are making a few bucks on the
deal too.

Jon

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Boger Jr" <mboger1 at midsouth.rr.com>
To: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion"
<asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2004 10:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] Digium and mailing lists


> Hi,
>
> Could you guys please take this conversation off list and converse
directly
> please. I believe you have been asked nicely before.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Kevin Walsh" <kevin at cursor.biz>
> To: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion"
> <asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
> Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2004 5:16 PM
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Digium and mailing lists
>
>
> > Benjamin on Asterisk Mailing Lists [benjk.on.asterisk.ml at gmail.com]
wrote:
> > > On Sat, 2 Oct 2004 20:03:07 +0100, Kevin Walsh <kevin at cursor.biz>
wrote:
> > > > My point is that
> > > > software and algorithm patents are simply not enforceable in
England,
> > > > so the only defence would be to point this out, and that defence
would
> > > > win every time.  To put it simply for you (again), software and
> > > > mathematical patents are not legal in England and Europe at the
> > > > moment, so there would be no case to answer.
> > > >
> > > That's all nice and good in theory, but in practise things are
> > > seldomly that clear cut. The trouble starts then the patent holder's
> > > attorneys, expert witnesses and the witnesses from the patent office
> > > convince the court that what you and I would describe as a software
> > > patent is in fact a hardware patent, because that's precisely what
> > > they are going to do, because that is the strategy upon which their
> > > questionable patent portfolio was probably built in the first place.
> > >
> > > What Steve tried to explain was that the boundaries what is a software
> > > patent and what is not are blurred because clever patent attorneys
> > > know how to word the patents such that even an obviously software
> > > centric invention becomes a legitimate looking physical apparatus that
> > > can be patented.
> > >
> > This thread has to be taken in the context of someone using an
> > executable, such as chan_g729.so, or a bunch of source files, and
> > so be in breach of various US G.729 patents.  If someone manages
> > to convince a court that the G.729 patents describe hardware and not
> > software algorithms, or if someone convinces a court that chan_g729.so
> > is a hardware device, then I'll be very impressed.
> >
> > If there's something in one of the G.729 patents that makes it clear
> > that their patent describes a specific hardware device, then a software
> > implementation would clearly not be in breach.  If the patent makes it
> > clear that the "invention" is a mathematical algorithm then it's not
> > valid, and therefore not enforceable, in England and Europe at this
> > time.  If the patent is ambiguous then the patent is invalid;  Patents
> > are supposed to describe an invention exactly.  A patent is not legal
> > in England or Europe if it describes an "idea", or a "method", instead
> > of a physical device.
> >
> > Can we drop this now please?
> >
> > -- 
> >    _/   _/  _/_/_/_/  _/    _/  _/_/_/  _/    _/
> >   _/_/_/   _/_/      _/    _/    _/    _/_/  _/   K e v i n   W a l s h
> >  _/ _/    _/          _/ _/     _/    _/  _/_/    kevin at cursor.biz
> > _/   _/  _/_/_/_/      _/    _/_/_/  _/    _/
> >
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