From jgb@gsyc.escet.urjc.es Wed,  8 Dec 1999 22:07:27 +0100 (CET)
Date: Wed,  8 Dec 1999 22:07:27 +0100 (CET)
From: Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona jgb@gsyc.escet.urjc.es
Subject: [Patents] Re: [Patents] Re: [Patents] Prosecution

JPS writes:
 > If you put LZW code on the Web, you are currently likely to be doing=
 a
 > "contributory infringement" in Europe.
 >=20
 > Explanation :
 > =09- You are providing something (ie. source code)
 > =09- Which allows someone to implement a patented technique (ie. LZW=

 > technique for image compression)
 > =09- With industrial application (ie. it displays something)
 >=20

=09I=B4m not a lawyer, nor have any formal education in law, but as far=

as I know, providing information which enables people to implement
patented techniques is not forbidden by patent law. What is more,
publishing a novel technique is what patents are about. Every patent
office in the world "provides something (ie: detailed information on
every granted patent) which allow anybody to implement a patented
tehcnique". In fact, I guess that publishing patented techniques in
books is not considered a violation of the patent.

=09Perhaps it is difficult to explain to somebody with little
computer science background, but source code is just a very precise
way of writting a book. It can be read by any programmer, who can
understand the techniques being used. I guess it is similar to formal
writing for mathematics, which any mathematician can
understand. Describing an algorithm with a formal language is not
different from writing it in a programming language.

=09As far as I know, for violating a patent you have to provide a=20
*device* which implements the patentes technique. Perhaps an
executable program can be conseidered a device. But I don=B4t see how
source code can. And if it ever is, I don=B4t understand how a frontier=

can be delimited between fair technical explanation of the technique
and providing an actual device.

=09Perhaps this could be a line of defense for libre software, in=20
case software patents are accepted everywhere. If distributing source
code can be considered just distribution of knowledge, libre software
distributors can just distribute programs with patentes techniques as
source code. The user who wills can compile the program, and (perhaps)=20=

buy a license the patent (although perhaps for private use this is
also unneded).

=09Just some wild ideas. Saludos,

=09=09Jesus.

--=20
Jesus M. Gonzalez Barahona             | Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
jgb@gsyc.escet.urjc.es                 | ESCET
jgb@computer.org                       | c/ Tulipan s/n
Grupo de Sistemas y Comunicaciones     | 28933 Mostoles, Spain




