Is this for real? I was aware of patents being granted for software, but this looks like open season on all but the largest companies with teams of patent lawers... they would have a field day enforcing their intelectual property.
It would be near impossible for free development if as is mentioned on the new home page, patents are granted for the simplest of software processes. On the other hand, a pragmatic view would be that software development would stagnate for the next 25 or so years (can't remember the exact time a patent protects an idea), but after that its a free for all... not a nice prospect, having to put off all your projects till the stupid patents run out. However, I suspect that it will be difficult to gain patents on all but the newest processes (I use processes to refer to both software methods/algorithms and business processes) after all, you can only apply for a patent if the idea is not already in the public domain, thats not to say that many large companies have or are in the process or obtaining patents. Expect to see test cases if the proposals become "law". ------------------------------------------------------- This sf.net email is sponsored by:ThinkGeek Welcome to geek heaven. http://thinkgeek.com/sf _______________________________________________ Freevo-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freevo-users
