open technology question

[C. Gershenson]

Greetings,

I am developing a traffic light control system, and I would like to
patent it in such a way that everyone would be able to use it, with no
fear of a company patenting it first. Basically, does anyone know if
there exist a GNU-equivalent for patenting or licensing technology in
general, not only software???

Thanks,
Carlos

P.S. I am not subscribed to this list, please reply to my address as
well...

    Carlos Gershenson...
    Centrum Leo Apostel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Krijgskundestraat 33. B-1160 Brussels, Belgium
    http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~cgershen/

  "The only mistake you can make is to believe you cannot make mistakes"