[OS:N:] Cloning technology

[Charles MacDonald]

Peter Quiring wrote:
  The first group takes a product and
> reverse-engineers it writting all findings into a document.  Then you 
> pass this document to another group that has never attempted to 
> reverse-engineer the product.  From the document made by the first 
> group, the second group builds a clone of the product.  This legal 
> loophole has allowed Compaq to make the first IBM clone.
> 
> With this, we could create clones of MPEG, and other technologies for 
> the Open Source community.

That gets you by Copyright (sometimes- There is the "look and feel 
issue)  (The Famous Apple wastebasket vs the Recycle bin) but not 
patents.  If you build something that uses the method that is in a 
patent, you are liable to be sued, even if you are unaware that the 
patent has been granted.


-- 
Charles MacDonald          Stittsville Ontario
cmacd at TelecomOttawa.net    Just Beyond the Fringe
http://www.TelecomOttawa.net/~cmacd/
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