European Free Software / US patent issue

[Arnoud Galactus Engelfriet]

Bernhard Reiter wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 16, 2003 at 09:53:01PM +0100, Arnoud Galactus Engelfriet wrote:
> > Right. But if someone else uses your work commercially, he'd
> > be infringing, not you. Still, it doesn't solve your problem
> > because your program couldnt be added to e.g. Debian.
> 
> Debian maintains a non-US branch,
> because of the several restrictions the US poses on software.

I was referring to European patents, not US patents. A
commercial reseller of Debian CD's in Europe could be
held liable for patent infringement if he distributes
this non-US branch and it contains things like MPEG or MP3
encoders/decoders.

Arnoud

-- 
Arnoud Engelfriet, Dutch patent attorney - Speaking only for myself
Patents, copyright and IPR explained for techies: http://www.iusmentis.com/