[Mono-list] Re: On Mono and Patents ... again

[Ralf Reiterer]

> This kind of thread seems to pop up quarterly or 
> semiannually. I long for a 
> mono-fud or mono-patents or some such mailing list to keep this from 
> cluttering the main list.

You should not underestimate the importance of this issue as it is one
of the *few* arguments that Mono/.NET opponents bring up against that
technology at every occasion, just look in diverse forums and blogs. But
more important, it might keep off companies from using Mono.

Therefore I suggest that the licensing FAQ should be updated by adding a
solid statement about that issue.
In my opinion, the two important points are:

(1) the .NET API patent contains (some) prior art (at least regarding
the Base Library). Just compare the API with the Java Library, for
example. Therefore it is likely that it is not (fully) enforcable, even
it has been grated to MS by the USPTO.

(2) *(almost) every* software is affected by a lots of other patents,
e.g. the data structure to XML mapping patent of MS. Therefore it makes
virtually no difference if you use C,C++,Java,PHP or C#/Mono.

A much better solution would be to publish the results of Novell's
patent review that Miguel mentioned one year ago. Having such a
statement in the FAQ, I'm sure the patent question is then resolved for
most people and companies.

Ralf