From epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk  Wed Dec 20 12:14:01 2000
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 12:14:01 +0000 (GMT)
From: Edward Avis epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk
Subject: [Patents] Re: monopoly/publicity contradiction?

>From: "Nick F." <marmalade@libertysurf.co.uk>
>Subject: Re: [Patents] monopoly/publicity contradiction?

>Publication of source code is not an infringement. For example, I can
>download a complete GIF compression utility for private study, as Mr
>Probert said, but as soon as I use it publicly only then does it it become
>an issue.

So what happened to all the open-source GIF encoders?  If publication of
source code is not an infringement, why have the authors been forced to
censor any code which does LZW compression?

-- 
Ed Avis
epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk





