Mailing-List: contact legal-discuss-help@apache.org; run by ezmlm
Precedence: bulk
Received-SPF: neutral (asf.osuosl.org: local policy)
From: Niclas Hedhman <niclas@hedhman.org>
Organization: Private
To: legal-discuss@apache.org
Subject: Re: IBM and Apache
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 13:52:32 +0800
User-Agent: KMail/1.5
References: 
 <OF5FCBB6FE.9119C6C2-ON04257043.005CF4C2-04257043.005E6F2B@us.ibm.com>
In-Reply-To: 
 <OF5FCBB6FE.9119C6C2-ON04257043.005CF4C2-04257043.005E6F2B@us.ibm.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
  charset="windows-1252"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline
Message-Id: <200507201352.32739.niclas@hedhman.org>

On Wednesday 20 July 2005 01:11, Jeffrey Thompson wrote:

Before I forget; Jeffrey, I am very happy you are taking the time and "pushing 
your side of the coin". I think I and others have learned a lot in this 
thread.

> Second point:  In my hypothetical Apache did some additional homework and
> made sure that the known third party patent holders have committed to make
> RF licenses available to Apache's licensees.  There is absolutely nothing
> in Apache's license or in the Open Source Definition that requires that
> Apache do that.  Its a very nice thing for Apache to do, but certainly not
> required.

Sorry, I think you have missed the ASF policies here. Any *known* 
encumberance, such as Patent claims/required patent license, is an IP issue 
and covered by the general Board directive; Circumvent or Terminate.

As Simon says; It is more than "to the letter of the law", it is about 
principles and ethics.

Personally, I will feel sad if/when certain specifications can not be 
implemented by ASF, due to these policies, but I honestly think the ASF 
stance will prevail given enough time.
Where that will take us is probably not written yet, whether ASF forms a 
standards process/body, software patents will vanish, or less "ASF friendly" 
standards will become "second-class citizens", I don't know, but I think we 
are in a transitional period of time.


Cheers
Niclas

---------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: Discussions on this list are informational and educational
only, are not privileged and do not constitute legal advice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: legal-discuss-unsubscribe@apache.org
For additional commands, e-mail: legal-discuss-help@apache.org