Patents and OpenMoko

Lionel Dricot zeploum at gmail.com
Thu Feb 7 22:08:59 CET 2008


I think that we all agree here that the patent system is completely broken.

By filling patent, even for defense only, you are playing the rule.

What I've seen so far is that small companies that cannot afford a lawyer
department simply choose to ignore the rules and just ignore completely the
patent system. In the essence of the law, as long as you don't obviously
*stole* an idea, you 've nothing to fear. But the system has becomed crazy
when you can infringe a patent without even knowing it. That's completly
wrong with the moral behing patent itself !

Have you already tried to fill a patent ? Have you tried to make a study on
prior art ?

I did for a few weeks and I didn't succeed. All is patented ! All,
completely ! Patents are as general as possible and cover everything you
could believe. It's nearly patents for "things" that do "stuffs".

So whatever you do, you could be sued.

I don't know the ressources of OpenMoko but patenting, writing and
submitting is a full-time job ! It would be shame (IMHO) to waste ressources
in this way. More : you have to fill the patents in different countries !!!


As OpenMoko does Free software, doing this, even for defensive purpose, will
have a terrible PR impact in the Free Softwware community. You have the
opportunity to just move, to ignore those silly things and to build
something new.

On the other hand, if you are under a patent attack without any patents, I
think that the Free Software Fundation gives legal help in that kind of
case.

I really hope that OpenMoko will not be covered by any patents. (but I'm
sure that there's a patent for a device allowing wireless communication
somewhere)

On Feb 7, 2008 9:43 PM, David Schlesinger <
David.Schlesinger at access-company.com> wrote:

> > http://www.patent-commons.org/ is the one that I'm aware of ...
>
> This is what I was referring to...
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OpenMoko community mailing list
> community at lists.openmoko.org
> http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
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