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| Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, May 21 2012 @ 12:58 PM EDT |
Complex_number,
I think you have an out. At least, the kernel programmers seem to think so. All
you need to do is to add a disclaimer which warns the potential user that some
parts of the functionality of the compiled code might or might not be deemed to
violate the patent of somebody somewhere, in some country which allows software
functionality to be patented. And if this happens to be the case then it is on
your (the user's) dime. The user is encouraged to consult a patent attorney in
case of any doubt.
Here is one of several examples, found in a Kconfig file:
config FTL
tristate "FTL (Flash Translation Layer) support"
depends on BLOCK
select MTD_BLKDEVS
---help---
This provides support for the original Flash Translation Layer which
is part of the PCMCIA specification. It uses a kind of pseudo-
file system on a flash device to emulate a block device with
512-byte sectors, on top of which you put a 'normal' file system.
You may find that the algorithms used in this code are patented
unless you live in the Free World where software patents aren't
legal - in the USA you are only permitted to use this on PCMCIA
hardware, although under the terms of the GPL you're obviously
permitted to copy, modify and distribute the code as you wish. Just
not use it.
[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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