European Free Software / US patent issue

[Niall Douglas]

On 16 Jan 2003 at 20:20, Arnoud Galactus Engelfriet wrote:

> Non-commercial activities, including distribution, cannot
> be an infringement in Europe (unlike the USA). A banner ad
> on your personal homepage is a definite no-no in such a
> situation though. 

How can that be true? Surely then if I wanted to undermine my 
competitor's patents, I could have a non-commercial group distribute 
a clone of their product for free and thus depriving him of his 
profits?

Cheers,
Niall