> At the risk of starting another flame war, I have a question concerning > CDDL... > > If I contribute a driver to OpenSolaris for a device which is > protected by certain patents then do I compromise those patents in any > way? Note I'm not talking about software patents here, just patents on > the hardware that the software interfaces to.
You mean like software that allows people to interface to a patent protected device like an iPod ? For example : Blastwave will release this shortly http://www.blastwave.org/dclarke/stuff/gtkpod/gtkpod_004.png The software is open sourced but it allows one to work with patent protected hardware in an open way. Now unless the source has piles of comments in it that expose the patent protected design of the device I don't see a problem. Of course you may need to consult with intellectual property and patent law experts : http://www.dww.com/ At about $300 an hour you can get every answer that you want. At one point in the recent past I had three of them at a table at the same time talking with me about a serious intellectual property concern and so I was running along at $900 an hour. The upshot was that I found that I was as safe and snug as a bug in a rug with no worries at all.[1] So .. in the case of patent protected hardware designs and software that deals with patent protected designs and potentially exposes the craft or intellectual investment you had better seek a professional. Hows that for a really honest, accurate and worthless answer ? Dennis [1] years ago. I was dealing with big insurance 'piece of the rock' INC. _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list [email protected]
