> But they also have a legal obligation to list > all issued patents in some obvious place. > This could be in the download screen or in the packaged > product, or somewhere. If they dont list the patent, they can > *loose* it.
I don't think they have to. Regardless if I even knew about the SWF format or Flash player, if I do something that infringes one of their patents so they can claim I've caused a revenue loss (true or not), they can sue. I can only argue it wasn't a willful infringement, and thus only pay the "actual loss", instead of three times the actual loss plus lawyer expenses. Under US patent law, as I understand it, it's my responsibility when I create a new product to make sure I don't infringe. And those patents can be just about anything. I'm amazed at what "slips through" the patent lawyers... With the money to back it up you can probably patent "graphics in browser". Sure, it can be found invalid at a later date, but if you want to refute it you have an expensive battle ahead of you. Has Macromedia patented "snap to grid"? (6,337,703) Multisampling? (5,940,080) Font kerning? (5,623,593). I find it ridiculous that these things can be patented. I think that in the end, US patent law is what's going to make open source big. This is what makes me want put extra time and effort into creating open software that challenges the multinational corporations' products. /Jonas -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.9/216 - Release Date: 2005-12-29
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