Educause Security Discussion mailing list archives
Re: OT: Software patent FUD?
From: Dave Koontz <dkoontz () MBC EDU>
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2011 20:29:56 -0500
Great analogy Steve! We as customers are not and should not have to be patent lawyers to purchase any type of product. Nor should we as customers force a vendor to provide language in their contracts or EULA to protect us as customers against any patent infringement. How the heck would we as consumers know? The battle should be between the companies in question, not the end users. It rather reminds me of the whole "streaming" content patent infringement that one company tried to peruse a couple years ago, where if you steamed any audio or video, you owed them licensing fees. Or when someone tried to patent many if not most of the Linux libraries and code. Those companies hoped for a huge pay day by offering a minimal and limited time "grace" payment option to offending organizations who may be using their so called patented technology in whatever product, of course with the threat it would cost them much more if they didn't take advantage of their special "offer". Some schools actually bit on it before it every saw it's day in court. These companies hoped for their payday against small organizations before they had to actually fight the various vendors or larger organizations in court. I think in general, we have all grown tired of the "patent trolls" who patent the most basic and obvious of common technologies, and attempt to hold the world hostage. Particularly those who do so well after those technologies have been in wide usage in the industry for many years. Unfortunately, our Legal System is far behind on understanding this issue. And to be completely transparent and hopefully without any legal threats as others have been issued on this list, we don't use any of the technologies discussed today which have lead us to this point of discussion. This conversation is relevant across multiple technologies and vendors. That said, I can assure you as a result, I will never deal with company "x", nor any other organization with such business practices. On 12/7/2011 6:10 PM, Steve Bohrer wrote:
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.) As far as software patents go, my basic thought is that there is a big difference between being a consumer of infringing software, vs. being a developer of the infringing software. I'd always assumed that buying a commercial product meant you did not have any particular responsibility for any potential patent infringement problems of the product. 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
Current thread:
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's?, (continued)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Walter Moore (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? SCHALIP, MICHAEL (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Valerie Vogel (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Dennis Meharchand (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Mclaughlin, Kevin (mclaugkl) (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Dennis Meharchand (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Mclaughlin, Kevin (mclaugkl) (Dec 07)
- OT: Software patent FUD? Steve Bohrer (Dec 07)
- Re: OT: Software patent FUD? Jay Fowler (Dec 07)
- Re: OT: Software patent FUD? R. J. Cronk (Dec 07)
- Re: OT: Software patent FUD? Dave Koontz (Dec 07)
- Re: OT: Software patent FUD? Tracy Mitrano (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Walter Moore (Dec 07)
- Re: Deepfreeze on vm's? Valdis Kletnieks (Dec 07)
- Message not available
- FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice SCHALIP, MICHAEL (Dec 08)
- Re: FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice Hanson, Mike (Dec 08)
- Re: FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice Drew Perry (Dec 08)
- Re: FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice Semmens, Theresa (Dec 08)
- Re: FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice Sarazen, Daniel (Dec 08)
- Re: FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice Ken Connelly (Dec 08)
- Re: FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice Chuck Dunn (Dec 08)
- Re: FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice Carson, Larry (Dec 08)