[Mono-list] problems with relicensing

[Miguel de Icaza]

>   The patent issue arises in the '_any_ adverse ownership interest'
> phrase of section 6(a). This is greater than simple copyright assertion.
> The case am I most familiar with is the issuance of a patent for online
> digital mapping, long after many mapping sites were active. The receiver
> proceeded to sue several companies using the patent (Microsoft, DeLorme,
> etc). Such a patent is clearly 'adverse ownership interest' in the
> online digital mapping arena. Say I worked on the Web farms code, and
> then Microsoft gains a patent on Web farms and decides to come after
> Ximian over it. If they win, then I am liable under the "work for hire"
> terms of the agreement.
> 
>   The point being that I cannot spend my time doing patent searches
> before committing code just to protect myself from liability in future
> lawsuits. If you want to make section 6(a) more explicit about the
> ownership interest being copyright only, that would be wonderful.

Thanks for the clarification.  I am going to bring this up with our
lawyers and make the appropriate changes to the copyright assignment
form.

Miguel.