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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Cinly Ooi
[mailto:cinly.ooi@gmail.com] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, June 11, 2010 8:17
AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Harri Saarikoski<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">license-discuss@opensource.org</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: protecting an
Innovation from unlicensed abuse by a rival commercial 3rd party</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Dear Harri,<br>
<br>
I am not a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>My question concerns an
AGPL covered OS software (below Software) developed by Company#1. We (this
writer) are Company#2 who extend this Software to produce Software+ by way of
an Innovation whose copyright Company#2 solely owns. Company#2 and Company#1 are
partners that want to market and sell Software+ <i><span style='font-style:
italic'>in full agreement and cooperation.</span></i> Software+ is to add great
value to end clients that Software of any operator in our field (OS or
proprietary) are not able to. Company#1 and Company#2 have no licensing issues
between them. It is rather our common interest to <i><span style='font-style:
italic'>protect</span></i> <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Softwa</span></i>re+
<i><span style='font-style:italic'>from a <u>specific </u>type of 'hostile'
third party </span></i>(Company#X). Worst case scenario is: Company#X are aware
we're developing the Innovation, so they most likely wish to copy the
Innovation from first Software+ distribution, continue to implement it in their
next distribution of their own software, and sell the Innovation free under
their own GPL license. We also have non-OS rivals who may freely pick it up,
patent it and there goes a life's work in vain ! This (proprietary
intervention) is in fact the greater threat.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
In one sentence, you want to exclude a group of people from using your
software+. In your particular case, commercial, for profit group, or a subgroup
of it.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>My company uses Open Source software
extensively: at one point, we modified one of the OSI approved licenses in such
a way as to just exclude people from using the OS software we wanted to release
under it for commercial purposes unless they participated in the development of
it. We then tried to get this license approved so we could use OSI-related
resources. The OSI politely but firmly told us that that was not allowable. We
got what I understand was the fairly unusual response of, “It’s a
good license and people should use it if that’s what they want to
accomplish, we just can’t approve it under the OSI guidelines.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>A license to block competitors generally, I
suspect, would meet no greater success.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>As far as the OP’s concern about
non-OS rivals picking up the OS and patenting it, you can’t patent
something if you’re not the inventor (or acting on their behalf for some
reason.) Period. While I am a lawyer (and in fact I’m a patent lawyer) this
is not legal advice, but if this is the concern and they want to prevent it,
they could simply either file their own patent or file an Information
Disclosure Statement with the patent office, or else with one of the commercial
or free information disclosure services, thereby putting it into the public
knowledgebase. Once this is done patenting it would become very, very tricky at
best and under some circumstances completely impossible, even for an
independent inventor. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>M<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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