Dave Held wrote: > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Marian POPESCU [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 8:06 AM > > To: pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org > > Subject: Re: [HACKERS] ARC patent > > > > >>>Neil Conway <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > >>> > > >>> > > >>>>FYI, IBM has applied for a patent on ARC (AFAICS the > > >>>>patent application is still pending, although the USPTO > > >>>>site is a little hard to grok): > > >>> > > >>>Ugh. We could hope that the patent wouldn't be granted, > > >>>but I think it unlikely, unless Jan is aware of prior art > > >>>(like a publication predating the filing date). I fear we'll > > >>>have to change or remove that code. > > Why not just ask IBM for a free license first? After all, they put > 1,000+ patents in the public domain or something, didn't they? I > realize that they might use this technology in DB2, and don't want > to encourage competitors. But IBM seems a lot more friendly to OSS > than most companies, and it doesn't seem like it would hurt to ask. > At the worst they say "no" and you just proceed as you would have > originally.
The problem is that they would have to license all commercial, closed-source distributions of PostgreSQL too, and I doubt they would do that. -- Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us pgman@candle.pha.pa.us | (610) 359-1001 + If your life is a hard drive, | 13 Roberts Road + Christ can be your backup. | Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073 ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 5: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq
