Re: [Haskell-cafe] Software patents covered in GHC?

austin seipp:

*sigh* CC'ing to the rest of haskell-cafe for completeness. I need to change 'reply all' to a default in my email I guess.

On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 12:19 PM, austin seipp wrote:

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Hello,

Realistically, there probably is. Considering everything down to linked lists are patented by the USPO, I'd be willing to bet (at least a dollar or two) that there are many patents out there that apply to the code used in GHC. I don't know if you could say anything different about *any* nontrivial software, to be quite honest.

IANAL however, so I won't attempt to claim in what countries these patents apply, nor could I cite you patent numbers (legalese being terse and software patents so seemingly open to interpretation sometimes, it would be hard to narrow down anyway I think.)

In fact, you are better of not to know. Given that GHC (like all non-trivial software) surely infringes on some patents, the damages that a patent holder can sue you for are less if you do not know about the patents you are infringing on. IIRC, a plaintiff can triple the charges if they can reasonably show that you have been aware of the patents that you are infringing on. Nasty business! Manuel

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On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 12:10 PM, Shakthi Kannan wrote:

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Hi,

I would like to know if there are any software algorithms used in the Glasgow Haskell Compiler that have been patented? If yes, in which countries do they apply?

Just curious to know.

SK

-- Shakthi Kannan http://www.shakthimaan.com

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-- Regards, Austin

-- Regards, Austin

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