Today Edson Manners wrote: > What I guess I'm really asking is how exactly could this affect MRTG > itself. I'm over in the US so any effect it will have on me would be > minimal at most but I'm just curious as to how it can affect this piece > of software (MRTG) for example. The only answers that I could think of > myself were so ridiculous that I can't see any way in which *any* > legislators could take software patents seriously.
Ed, In the US you have software patents today ... look what it got you ... it seems that there is nothing too silly to be patent. On Click Orders come to mind ... I am realy glad we are not there yet in Europe and I hope we will stay that way. Regarding MRTG, chances are that we are not threatned all that much because MRTG is an old player and could probably even serve as prior art in certain disputes. But on the other hand, the way MRTG stores its data, using a log file which thins out with time might well have been patenten worthy ... I certanly did not copy this idea from anyone, but at the same time someone (rich) may have had the idea before me, and gone quietly to the patent office to have it patented ... Suddenly I would be faced with charges for using this invention without permission or whatnot ... cheers tobi -- ______ __ _ /_ __/_ / / (_) Oetiker @ ISG.EE, ETZ J97, ETH, CH-8092 Zurich / // _ \/ _ \/ / System Manager, Time Lord, Coder, Designer, Coach /_/ \.__/_.__/_/ http://people.ee.ethz.ch/~oetiker +41(0)1-632-5286 -- Unsubscribe mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive http://www.ee.ethz.ch/~slist/mrtg FAQ http://faq.mrtg.org Homepage http://www.mrtg.org WebAdmin http://www.ee.ethz.ch/~slist/lsg2.cgi
