This patent mess leaves us with this:

- Incorporate.

- Make an honest attempt to find and pay royalties on code you use in your
product.

- If contacted by patent holder, make an honest attempt to work something
out.

- When it gets insane, fold up, bankrupt the company, sell the assets to
your wife/cousin/friend, move the office, re-incorporate.

- Repeat as needed.



In other words, this crap makes criminals out of anyone who wants to make a
living as a programmer. What else are you going to do? If you fight, the
lawyers win. 

I do hope the open source people find away around it.

---
James.

P.S. I've never done that, but I've seen it done twice now. The first time
was not so honest but the second time was very much so. 
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu 
> [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Rolf
> Sent: 2007 May 21, Mon 08:37
> To: piclist@mit.edu
> Subject: [OT] Microsoft demands royalties for open-source software]
> 
> FYI
> 
> http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArt
icleBasic&taxonomyId=89&articleId=9019238&intsrc=hm_topic
> 
> Also see
> 
> http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/3937
> 
> But what I found more interesting (on above page) is that 
> Microsoft's FAT patent is invalid, so using FAT with PIC's 
> (flash cards) is no longer a patent infringement.
> 
> http://www.pubpat.org/microsoftfat.htm
> 
> R
> 
> --
> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change 
> your membership options at 
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