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List:       kde-promo
Subject:    [kde-promo] KDE patents and KRegExpEditor.
From:       Karim Elaagouby <admin () elaagouby ! net>
Date:       2002-02-01 2:46:36
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-----Original Message-----
From: kde-promo-admin@mail.kde.org
[mailto:kde-promo-admin@mail.kde.org]On Behalf Of
Jesper K. Pedersen

> Therefore, if anyone here finds it important for KDE
to get a patent, and
> they believe that my regular expression editor is
worth one, then I'll
> gladly support it is much as possible (still without
doing tons of
> paperwork myself ;-)

In the US, you have one (1) year after you make an
invention public to file a patent application. In the
rest of the world you lose your right to a patent as
soon you publish the invention. 
So, if you have already made you application public,
you have already lost the opportunity of a patent
application, exept in the US, if you made the
application public less than a year ago.

Patenting inventions does not matter that much.
Patents are used to either make money by selling a
technology, or prevent others (competitors) from
making the same technology. Open source developers are
rather bothered by the latter, since big Cos. patent
technologies, then prevent open source developers from
using it (or something substantially similar). The
best way Free developers can protect themselves is to
publish their ideas as soon as possible. ONLY THE DATE
MATTERS. 

I think it is actually easy to compete against and
avoid the patent problem.
My suggestion would be to have a website available to
free developers to describe their ideas as soon they
think of one. They do not have to wait until they code
an application. Each entry can be electronically
signed with the date of the publication. 

No company will ever bother a developer, if they find
that she published the idea prior to their filing.

Just a suggestion

Karim 


=====
Karim Elaagouby

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