<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.msonormal0, li.msonormal0, div.msonormal0
{mso-style-name:msonormal;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>John Cowan wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>> </span>I know that it's not typical for a patent holder to sue Bobs who merely use a patented article that they obtain from a non-licensed manufacturer, but that's a matter of it being economically inefficient to sue a huge list of known and unknown customers, not a derogation of their right to do so.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In any event, I won't any longer lose sleep over this hypothetical. MIT is a friend of mine. I hope they help me if I'm sued. :-)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Which doesn't address the question: "Views on patent licensing?"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>/Larry<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> License-discuss [mailto:license-discuss-bounces@opensource.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>John Cowan<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, December 12, 2016 2:48 PM<br><b>To:</b> lrosen@rosenlaw.com<br><b>Cc:</b> license-discuss@opensource.org<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [License-discuss] Views on React licensing?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 4:16 PM, Lawrence Rosen <<a href="mailto:lrosen@rosenlaw.com" target="_blank">lrosen@rosenlaw.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>If Yoyodyne or Soylent sue MIT because they had previous exclusive patent licenses or contracts, that is court fun for them. It doesn't involve me.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Agreed. I only mentioned this hypo to defend my claim that if MIT can't keep track of what they have licensed to whom, the word "incompetent" is fit for purpose, not in any specifically legal sense but in the sense of not being ordinarily prudent in the management of their property. MIT would get a short sharp shock if they tried to sell the same piece of real estate to two different purchasers on the grounds that proper records were too expensive to maintain.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> <o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>[<LER>] I would tell Yoyodyne to take up their dispute with MIT. I'm not a party. The worldwide open source user community is not a party to some secret exclusive deal between Yoyodyne and MIT.</span><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Now this I do not understand. If Yoyodyne is the exclusive licensee, then surely it has the right to sue/enjoin you as a user of their patented technology, and your claim to have a subsequent license from the former patent holder isn't going to help you, particularly if that former patent holder disclaims it. This follows from the fact that if Charlie writes a program that unknowingly infringes Alice's patent and then allow Bob to use it, Alice can take action against either Bob or Charlie. In this case, MIT is Charlie, and the fact that MIT originally handed over the patent to Alice shouldn't matter: when Alice asks for one more nickel, Charlie won't be able to get off the train.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>I know that it's not typical for a patent holder to sue Bobs who merely use a patented article that they obtain from a non-licensed manufacturer, but that's a matter of it being economically inefficient to sue a huge list of known and unknown customers, not a derogation of their right to do so.<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><br>-- <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>John Cowan <a href="http://vrici.lojban.org/~cowan">http://vrici.lojban.org/~cowan</a> <a href="mailto:cowan@ccil.org">cowan@ccil.org</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Knowledge studies others / Wisdom is self-known;<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Muscle masters brothers / Self-mastery is bone;<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Content need never borrow / Ambition wanders blind;<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Vitality cleaves to the marrow / Leaving death behind. --Tao 33 (Bynner)<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></div></body></html>