Re: The GPL and Patents: ROFL

[Alexander Terekhov]

Hyman Rosen wrote:
[...]
> You are never going to be able to avoid the word "inextricably".

It just means that after you have extricated out expression elements
embodying patented idea, the rest of expression elements may be
copyrightable (other grounds for uncopyrightability aside for a moment).

It is really simple, Hyman.

Suppose a patentable idea along the lines of:

    step 1: a
    step 2: send Hyman a bomb
    step 3: c

and a program

int main() {
    step_1: a();
    step_2: send_Hyman_a_bomb(); 
    step_3: b();
}

is not copyrightable at all, yet a computer program work implementing
send_Hyman_a_bomb() could be copyrightable!

Got it now silly?

regards,
alexander.

--
http://gng.z505.com/index.htm 
(GNG is a derecursive recursive derecursion which pwns GNU since it can 
be infinitely looped as GNGNGNGNG...NGNGNG... and can be said backwards 
too, whereas GNU cannot.)