Bruce Black wrote: > > Yes - I found that intriguing. Presumably a customer who licenses a copy of > > z/OS to run on a z9 gets a licence to all relevant patents thrown in; how > > could anyone do business without?
> Tony, I think you misunderstand patents. As a user of a commercial > software product, I have no involvement in whatever patent licenses were > required to CONSTRUCT that product. The patent protects certain > hardware or software process inventions, and the patent holder can sue > anyone who uses their hardware or software process in the contruction of a product. > > Assuming that no patents were violated (or violated patents were paid > appropriate license fees), me, the end user, is not involved and gets no > implied patent license (which would allow me to contstruct my OWN product). I think you have a novel legal theory of patents here. Certainly a particular patent might relate to the construction of something - a part of the manufacturing process, say, that is not involved in using or operating the product. So if a car maker uses a patented way of bending metal to make body panels, there is certainly no patent issue with your driving the car made by this method. But if a patent describes something that is inherently involved in the operation of the product, then there is nothing to magically exempt the end user of the product from patent liability for performing the patented operation. Virtually all commercial software licences contain language covering this; typically the vendor agrees to indemnify the licensee under certain conditions. In this IBM vs PSI case, the patents cited all appear to have nothing to do with manufacturing either hardware or software, but with execution of software on hardware. That IBM has chosen to go after a vendor rather than end users is surely more practical politics than legalities. Tony H. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
