Re: OT: Software patent FUD?

[Jay Fowler <fowler () CSUFRESNO EDU>]

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Bohrer" <skbohrer () SIMONS-ROCK EDU>
> To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> Sent: Wednesday, December 7, 2011 3:10:26 PM
> Subject: [SECURITY] OT: Software patent FUD?
> I expect most of us are not lawyers, and I'm not either, but I just
> wanted to check on a common sense level (Not, of course, that common
> sense is necessarily relevant to legal action.)
It took Tivo 6 years to prove their "time warp" patent was infringed on. Common sense and I am sure Tivo could not 
prove which customers were infringing on their patents > For example, if I buy a GM car, and then someone sues GM for
> infringing a patent, I'm pretty sure they can't come after me and sue
> me as a patent infringer just because I was driving my car. I don't,
> as far as I know, need any special language in my car-buying-contract
> to protect me from any patent sins that GM might have committed. If
> someone does successfully sue GM over a patent issue about my car, and
> GM can't settle, would I then need to stop using the infringing car?
> That could be a hassle, but is still much a much lesser problem than
> being sued as an infringer. Even if it came to loss of the car, seems
> like GM would owe me a refund, since they'd sold me a car that turned
> out to not be usable.
> Steve Bohrer
> Network Admin
> Bard College at Simon's Rock
> 413-528-7645
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