On Fri, 2007-07-06 at 16:15 -0500, Les Mikesell wrote: > What I'm trying to discuss is the right to use a patented technology > which has already been paid for. I think you'll find patents are a manufacturing, not end-user, thing. The builder of *some* *thing* is disallowed from building something that infringes someone else's patent, unless some arrangement is made. It's too late by the time a customer has their hot little mitts on the widget. All of that is behind the scenes as far as the end user is concerned. Certainly for physical objects, whether that be a lawnmower, gearbox, or self adjusting spanner. There's all manner of things that we use that are protected by patents, without it having any bearing on us as a user. Software is still a product. It'd be up to the builder to ensure that they'd produced a product that could be sold, given away, or used by someone else. -- (This box runs FC5, my others run FC4 & FC6, in case that's important to the thread.) Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists.
