From: MJ Ray [mailto:markj@cloaked.freeserve.co.uk]
Are supporters of GNU and Linux use in education against the introduction of software patents? They could be used to restrict use of otherwise-available software.
I thought that GNU differentiates between ownership and accessibility. How does Linus exert ownership over the kernel? All software is copyright the owner and that ownership needs to be asserted. The GNU licence allows others to make use of the product, hopefully in an attributable way. But GNU specifically covers passing off work as if it's your own. AFAIK software is rarely patented per se. You can patent new ideas but they tend to have physical representations before the patent office get interested. But things like the GIF format have escaped to the public domain despite private ownership - and that ownership has been reasserted; thus the development of png. In any case a patent would be overturned if someone could prove that ownership lay elsewhere. -- ******************************************************************************** All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of unacceptable material. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster@wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. Website: http://www.wellington-college.berks.sch.uk ********************************************************************************