Re: Intelectual Property and RedHat-OpenOffice.org

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Gustavo Seabra wrote:
> There was a known bug in OO.o calc that has apparently been fixed in
> upstream. However, it seems like RedHat *decided* that the bug should
> be kept broken in redhat releases, based on unclear "Intelectual
> Property" claims. It was then set as "closed", but the bug is still
> there:
> 
> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=146883
> 
> I have little law knowlegde, but I can't imagine how breaking an OPEN
> SOURCE software can protect redhat from IP claims, and they don't give
> enough information in their replies to explain it. I wonder if anyone
> on this list with more experience could take a look at the bugzilla
> dicussion and give us some extra light about what they mean.

No more experience, but I suspect I can guess.

Patents. It can't be copyright (otherwise the code could be re-written),
it can't be trade secrets any more (it *is* public: there's no more
damage to be done), and it certainly can't be trademarks. That leaves
patents.

Under the US patent system, if you know of a third party patent, believe
it to be invalid, but the courts disagree, you are liable for triple
damages. See http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1752687,00.asp , for
example.

However, Red Hat have no liability to tell anyone else about the claim:
that's the patent owner's responsibility.

I assume Red Hat are aware of a possible patent claim. Possibly the
patent owner's lawyers sent them a letter. I assume, too, that Red Hat
chose not to litigate on it. We'd have heard. And there are too many
software patents out there for Red Hat, single handedly, to fight them
all.

Red Hat tend to be cautious about legal issues. So we don't have mp3
support or Mono. We have a patched OpenSSH (
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2004-November/msg00217.html
and thread ).

So I'm not surprised at them taking out other features due to legal
concerns.

Having done so, should they tell the rest of us? "The rest of us" would
almost certainly include other distributors of OpenOffice, and plenty of
users. If Red Hat did explain the patent problems, then those others
would be aware of the patent, and potentially face triple damages, too.

If I'm right, Red Hat employees shouldn't publicly confirm it!

Can we take the anti-software patent rhetoric as read?

James.

-- 
E-mail address: james | The camel has a single hump;
@westexe.demon.co.uk  | The dromedary two;
                      | Or else the other way around.
                      | I'm never sure.  Are you?  -- Ogden Nash


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