Messages in this thread |  | | | Subject | Re: Open letter to Linux kernel developers (was Re: Binary Drivers) | | From | Valdis.Kletnieks@vt ... | | Date | Mon, 01 Jan 2007 21:42:04 -0500 | |
On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 17:09:43 GMT, Alan said:
> That IP story is for the most part not even credible. If they were worried
> about "software IP" they would release hardware docs and let us get on
> with writing drivers that may well not be as cool as theirs but would
> work. If they had real IPR in their hardware then they would hold patents
> on it and would be able to take action against (or license it) to anyone
> else making hardware. That would apply even outside the USA where
> software patents are generally not valid.
>
> The only hardware IP they'd need to protect would appear to be anything
> that revealed they used other people's IPR without permission or
> licenses. Given the Nvidia/3Dfx affair I can see why they would be
> worried about that given it cost them $70M and 1 million shares.
Hey, I started out *up front* pointing out they can't open-source the
drivers because some of the IP is other people's, didn't I? :)
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