3 ms·
Can a program legally do: if (country == usa) { workSlowPatentFreeWay() else { workScreamingFastWay() }
by ape4 10y ago
Can a program legally do:
if (country == usa) {
workSlowPatentFreeWay()
else {
workScreamingFastWay()
}
- the8472 10y agothings like ffmpeg can be configured to exclude various kinds of code based on licences. I assume similar build-time flags could be set to exclude patent-encumbered code. The source would include the code, but binaries could be shipped with and without it.
- dom0 10y agoWhat do I (a German) care about some u-boat patents some American may or may not or whatever have on some technique I use in my software?
- JoshTriplett 10y agoThe usual approach: uncompiled source code implementing a patented algorithm doesn't directly violate the patent, for the same reason a paper describing a patented algorithm doesn't. So, you can ship the necessary source code, and a compile-time option to build with or without it. Freetype used to do this with bytecode hinting. Various media libraries do this as well.