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

[Eric <em...@po...>]

Oh, give me a break!  Isn't M$ the same company who argued, in self defense,
that what they were doing was "innovation?" (Putting IE in the OS).  M$
didn't invent the browser concept! M$ was also rumored to have used BSD's
open source TCP/IP or parts of it in the new XP product to give it raw
sockets support.

I mean c'mon.  The byte 'A' typed in Detroit is the same 'A' typed in
Redmond, how are you to tell the difference?  Its almost like we are talking
about copyrighting and idea and saying that well since this idea influenced
new ideas we own the new ideas as well?  This is called innovation according
to M$.

Question:  How are KDE and GNOME tackling this situation?

Both KDE and GNOME are GUI/Windowed desktops each of which have Win95
skins!!!!!

There is no doubt in my mind that the new Win98ME and XP virtual desktop
concept came from the X-Windows world.  After all, X-Windows had virtual
desktops for years and Windows is just now getting it?  Thus it could be
argued that ROS ideas came from X-Windows with SUPPORT for Win32 in the form
of cloning ideas not code.

This reminds me of a case where Harley Davidson tried to copyright the sound
of their bikes.  I never knew what happen (did it go to court?  If so, what
was the outcome?)  As if to say the sound was exactly the same on every bike
produced and that it encourage awesome innovation to the point they needed
to protect it saying it was from their custom engine designs bla bla bla.
Its like saying Honda built their bike engines based on the sound that
Harley's made?  As John Stossel would say, Give me a break.

Eric




-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Parrish [mailto:rfm...@sw...]
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2001 12:28 PM
To: ros...@re...
Subject: [ros-kernel] Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Legal...


Eric wrote:

>Good point but I still fail to see the connection.  Maybe this isn't the
>place to talk about it but, I'll add to your statement and ask, Who would
M$
>sue?  Do they really have the deep pockets and TIME to go after thousands
of
>developers?  What about those developers not on US soil who are not bound
by
>US copyright laws?
>
Free Dimitry!

In other words, don't just worry about civil suits. Companies like M$ are
lobbying for new laws even worse than the DMCA that could criminalize
seemingly innocent open source efforts because it harms some company's
business model.

Anybody remember Phil Zimmerman?

-rick


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