| [LEGAL] - Scared About Patents! [message #3074] |
Mon, 11 October 2004 06:05  |
Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: ilias.lazaridis.com
Whilst thinking about an highly integrated developement-environment (Collaboration and Governance Infrastructure) many ideas come into my mind. [basicly they are 'lurking around' in my mind since years. Just eclipse is the first system where they become applicable].
I have generally not a problem to share ideas, even if they have the nature of "beeing something new".
Increasing efficiency of some of todays open source collaborative projects would increase their developement throughput, thus in around 2 years i'll get multiple times back what I have 'invested'.
But i am afraid about one issue:
Patents!
If I remember right, there was something about a patent-claim, a simple TODO list.
Seeing that a company patents something similar to "making a shopping list" makes me scary.
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My questions are basicly:
If an idea is published within an open source project, does this automaticly set a patent-relevant "timestamp" for this idea, which prevents other companies from patenting this idea?
Or must one provide specific code for the implementation of an idea (published within an repository)?
I mean, if one provides a really new and good idea, how is it ensured that the contribution is "public" and thus protected from beeing copied and patented by a smart grabbling company?
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I would like to see an foundation like eclipse to inform the contributors clearly about such issues, ideally in an simple to read (example based) document (which links to some more detailed content).
Initially, a pointer to a _compact_ document would help, too.
..
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http://lazaridis.com
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| Re: [LEGAL] - Scared About Patents! [message #3435 is a reply to message #3074] |
Wed, 13 October 2004 21:36  |
 Mike Milinkovich
Messages: 260
Registered: July 2009 |
Senior Member |
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Ilias,
I doubt very much that the Eclipse Foundation will be providing this
information. We cannot provide legal advice to anyone....which is basically
what you are asking for below.
As one concrete example, deciding whether something is prior art is
extremely complicated, and requires the judgement of professional attorneys.
"ilias" <ilias@lazaridis.com> wrote in message
news:opsfoy6pvwrp2aut@news.eclipse.org...
> Whilst thinking about an highly integrated developement-environment
(Collaboration and Governance Infrastructure) many ideas come into my mind.
[basicly they are 'lurking around' in my mind since years. Just eclipse is
the first system where they become applicable].
>
> I have generally not a problem to share ideas, even if they have the
nature of "beeing something new".
>
> Increasing efficiency of some of todays open source collaborative projects
would increase their developement throughput, thus in around 2 years i'll
get multiple times back what I have 'invested'.
>
> But i am afraid about one issue:
>
> Patents!
>
> If I remember right, there was something about a patent-claim, a simple
TODO list.
>
> Seeing that a company patents something similar to "making a shopping
list" makes me scary.
>
> -
>
> My questions are basicly:
>
> If an idea is published within an open source project, does this
automaticly set a patent-relevant "timestamp" for this idea, which prevents
other companies from patenting this idea?
>
> Or must one provide specific code for the implementation of an idea
(published within an repository)?
>
> I mean, if one provides a really new and good idea, how is it ensured that
the contribution is "public" and thus protected from beeing copied and
patented by a smart grabbling company?
>
> -
>
> I would like to see an foundation like eclipse to inform the contributors
clearly about such issues, ideally in an simple to read (example based)
document (which links to some more detailed content).
>
> Initially, a pointer to a _compact_ document would help, too.
>
> .
>
> --
> http://lazaridis.com
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| Re: [LEGAL] - Scared About Patents! [message #3888 is a reply to message #3435] |
Thu, 14 October 2004 07:01 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: ilias.lazaridis.com
On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 17:36:47 -0400, Mike Milinkovich <mike.milinkovich@eclipse.org> wrote:
> Ilias,
>
> I doubt very much that the Eclipse Foundation will be providing this
> information. We cannot provide legal advice to anyone....which is basically
> what you are asking for below.
I am not asking for legal advice.
I am asking for a _general_ legal guidance [which can have a disclaimer, that it is not a legal advice].
You provide already such legal guidance e.g. with the CPL/EPL documents.
> As one concrete example, deciding whether something is prior art is
> extremely complicated, and requires the judgement of professional attorneys.
There are general rules, which need only some common sense to evaluate.
Professional patent attorneys can evaluate and write down some of those most general rules (context: open source project contribution).
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I've described a very basic issue within open source, which should interest some of the contributors to open source projects.
Eclipse Foundation should forward those essential questions to its patent attorney.
He could write an compact clarifying article [with a standard disclaimer].
This is similar to elaborating licensing issues to contributors/customers/members etc.!
Eclipse foundation contributors could say then: "See, _my_ Foundation cares!"
A gentle Foundation should not expect that every single contributor makes his own research on patent issues.
..
--
http://lazaridis.com
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| Re: [LEGAL] - Scared About Patents! [message #3906 is a reply to message #3599] |
Thu, 14 October 2004 07:35 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: ilias.lazaridis.com
On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 07:19:48 +0200, Tal <shabi@t2.technion.ac.il> wrote:
> Hi,
> If I understand patent correctly, when one post file a patent it has to
> answer some ground rules. One such is innovation.
> If you posted you're thoughts here and someone made a patent out of it you
> can sue him and his patent will be cancelled.
>
> But, I'm not a lawyer...
I assume that very little of the community are that.
And that's the reason why I ask the foundation to provide some clarifying docu one that.
Even if it ends finally with...
"...please consult and patent attorney"
..
--
http://lazaridis.com
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