From: Paul Louden <paulthenerd_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:26:41 -0500

Camilo Mesias wrote:
> Similarly Rockbox could pursue Apple's patent claiming prior art, but
> if you recognise one patent, shouldn't you recognise them all? And
> that's something that wouldn't be in the interests of Rockbox.
>
Rockbox does its best to recognize others' copyrights and not infringe.
As for software patents, they're still a very tangled issue, especially
considering the differences between US patents and EU patents (where
Rockbox is from). But even if Rockbox were from a place where no patents
exist, it would still qualify as prior art in the US, as far as I know.

So far, I don't believe we've ever been approached with a software
patent issue, but we've been approached with a few copyright issues and
we've always been willing to evaluate what we've been doing, and if
necessary change it so that we aren't infringing.

While there's always risk in doing something, I personally would rather
not try to get by simply by avoiding notice if we do have any real
issues that need clearing up, and I don't see avoiding notice as a good
reason not to call attention to ourselves should the occasion arise.

That being said, I think given the nature of the internet, if anyone
wants to challenge Apple's patent, they'll find Rockbox for themselves
in a few heartbeats anyway.
Received on 2009-03-11