[ros-kernel] Re: RE: Re: Legal...

[Rick P. <rfm...@sw...>]

Eric wrote:

>I'm not a lawyer and don't pretend to be one but I simply fail to see how M$
>have any legal standing.  That's like Ford suing Chrysler for copying the
>automobile.  Is it not?
>
>After all, M$ literally copied the Window concept from Xerox and MS-DOS was
>a derivative of CP/M which they purchased and copied.
>
The merits of any suit would have to be weighed in court. The judge giving
the decision may be very well versed in the law but be relatively 
ignorant of
the technology to which the law is being applied. The only way to make
your case is by hiring representation that is knowledgable of both the 
law and
the technology.

Compare this civil process to a criminal trial where you have been 
charged with
a crime. Say you spend $30,000 defending yourself. You successfully prove
your innocence but you are still stuck with the bill. Being right does 
not make you
immune. You have to be proactive which starts with taking a defensive 
stance in
your actions.

My current thinking is that if you are serious about making a 
contribution that is
potentially controversial enough to draw a lawsuit (like ROS) - the code 
should be
handled through some sort of corporate shell and the contributor should 
be anonymous.
The folks that do this sort of thing do so for the recognition or for 
the "thank you
factor" so doing so anonymously takes away much of the satisfaction.

I am not a lawyer nor do I wish to make one wealthy!

Regards,
Rick Parrish


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