Red Hat's "Cowardice" against Software Patents

[Eric S. Raymond]

Warren Togami <wtogami at redhat.com>:
> Come back with a legally binding, written, perpetual, and irrevocable 
> promise that Fraunhofer grants a royalty free license for FOSS to use 
> MP3.  Until then, insisting that Red Hat is a "coward" by not shipping 
> MP3 is essentially asking Red Hat to be a martyr and risk destroying itself.

This is out of hand.  

First, I never made that accusation.  I reported someone else making it
and said I wished I had a better defense against it.

Second, it isn't my job to negotiate agreements with Fraunhofer.  That
job belongs to an organization like Red Hat that has lawyers and money
and can make a business judgement about cost versus expected gain in
market share.

Third, negotiating an agreement with Fraunhofer would not consutute martyrdom.

What is it with the zeolots on this list, anyway?  No contact with reality
at *all*...
-- 
		<a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/">Eric S. Raymond</a>