
On Nov 22, 2007 11:39 PM, Mingnan Guo <hnxgc_pub@yahoo.com> wrote:
"Daniel Frey" <d.frey@gmx.de> 写入消息新闻:1195640722.20820.7.camel@fiasko...
"Q: Is HnxGC a freeware? or a GNU open-sourced project? A: No. HnxGC is *NOT* a freeware. The author of HnxGC has filed several patents of HnxGC in the United States and other countries. Whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any of these patented invention, within the United States and/or other countries infringes the patent(s).
However, the source code of HnxGC is available for reference upon request. For a non-commercial educational purpose, you may be granted free to use, copy and distribute the software and its documentations."
Do you intend to put your library under the Boost Software License?
Currently, HnxGC is not under the Boost Software License, but it is possible that in near or later future, we will release a version of HnxGC under Boost Software License. Prior to doing that, I want to be sure that whether or not the Boost License is conflicting with patented/patent-pending technologies. Could any body give me some successful examples of patents under Boost Software License, or explain it?
From the Boost License Requirements: "Must grant permission without fee to copy, use and modify the software for any use (commercial and non-commercial)." I do not think that it necessarily conflicts with patents, as long as you give every user of your program (and of derived work) a royalty free license to use your patents [1], it might be ok, but somehow I doubt this is what you had in mind. Disclaimer: IANAL, ask a lawyer, etc... HTH, [1] which in practice makes the patent useless, with the notable of exception of preventing others to patent the same idea. -- gpd