If there is one technology in the Linux world that ruffles feathers whenever it's mentioned, it's Mono, the open source .Net clone. Since .Net comes out of Microsoft, and has some patents encircling it, it is said to be a legal nightmare. Supposedly, you can obtain a "royalty-free, reasonable and non-discriminatory" license from Microsoft regarding the patents surrounding Mono. iTWire decided to look at just how easy (or hard) it is to get such a license. Turns out it's kind of hard.
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Member since:2009-05-30
GPLv3 does not make you bomb proff to them.
But it does mean collective bargaining. So you cannot be picked out individually.
GPLv2 allows each end user to be picked out 1 by 1 and changed at different rates.
GPLv3 forces a patent claims to be sorted out in 1 big hit so meaning everyone who is using that program patent list comes to bare on the person trying to enforce a patent.
You are far less likely to see anyone try to apply patents against GPLv3. Results are not going to be nice on any party that tries. Its the patent system MAD.
C# and CLI by the way is low level bits of .net don't include libraries. Without libraries .net is a paper weight.
Remember you can implement C without libc. Its far more painful language without the lib.
Edited 2009-05-31 02:25 UTC
Member since:2006-01-03
Don't believe for a moment that the patent system will allow you to willfully infringe a patent in your software and then, by licensing that software under the GPLv3, freeing yourself from responsibility.
The GPL3 protects users of a software package from patents owned by the software writer. If Microsoft made a Silverlight plugin and licensed under GPL3, al users and sublicensees would be safe. But if I make that plugin, I cannot stop Microsoft from exercising its legal's rights, whether they are ethical or not.
Member since:
2009-05-31
You do not understand patents.
Applying the GPLv3 pixie dust on a product does not make it immune to third party patents.
It is called "wishful thinking"