James Carlson wrote: > Dennis Clarke writes:
>> Like I said .. I am not a lawyer and I am not about to drop $300/hour ( per >> shark ) to a team of IP lawyers to tell me that the XPS document format >> forces you into Microsoft lockin. Am I reading that correct? Does that > > Not a lawyer, either, but that's exactly how I read it. > Interesting, because I read it in exactly the opposite fashion. The actual license doesn't really deal with patents per se, but it does allow for the use of the materials in preparation of interfacing with something that uses the specification. This sounds to me like an explicit statement that the actual product being interfaced to does not have to be owned by MS. On the other hand, the promise is a typical non-assert such as the CDDL uses. In other words, if you use the spec to make a product that implements it, then MS will not sue you for any patent infringement you may have done that was necessary to implement it. Sue them for patent infringement around the same technology and all bets are off. A couple of points that may be issues. One, that any implementation of the spec must implement all mandatory pieces of the spec to be covered, and that the license says "For good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are acknowledged", which says that MS has acknowledged that you have paid in full for the right to access this material. I am a little unsure that setting the price to zero and then saying that you have paid in full is exactly kosher. That's why so many contracts are for one dollar or one penny, to get around this problem. But then IANAL. > I'd assume that any project that has to dabble in IPR-encumbered work > would be best advise to seek competent counsel -- and mailing lists > don't count here. It's sad that it's this way, but it's always been > true. > -- blu Screening ideas are indeed thought up by the Office for Annoying Air Travelers and vetted through the Directorate for Confusion and Complexity - Kip Hawley, Head of the TSA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Utterback - Solaris RPE, Sun Microsystems, Inc. Ph:877-259-7345, Em:brian.utterback-at-ess-you-enn-dot-kom _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list [email protected]
