On 8/20/2010 1:11 PM, RJack wrote:
Good. then we can stop all this software patent indemnity blather
with the GPL
If you wish to copy and distribute software which incorporates
patented processes under the GPL, you must arrange for all downstream
recipients to have the same rights to practice the patent that you do
when they further use, copy, and distribute the software under the
GPL. If the patents are your own, that's simple. If they're not, that
could be considerably complicated.
The point is to avoid the promissory estoppel that would result from
ostensibly distributing free software but actually having that
software be encumbered so that some users would not have the freedom
that the GPL is supposed to guarantee.
Note that the GPL does not actually require you to obtain rights to
patents practiced in the software. It only requires that all be
treated equally - you cannot copy and distribute the GPLed work of
others if you have arranged things so that some downstream
recipients have more rights to practice the patents than others.