Except he's entirely wrong if he's talking about the US. The only thing you don't need a license for is for purely speculative work, generally interpreted as n

Except he's entirely wrong if he's talking about the US. The only thing you don't need a license for is for purely speculative work, generally interpreted as nothing more than idle curiosity. Even research (such as trying to build a new invention out of an old one) is technically patent infringement unless you have a license. Here's the actual law: Except as otherwise provided in this title [35 USCS Sects. 1 et seq.], whoever without authority makes, uses or sells any patented invention, within the United States during the term of the patent therefor, infringes the patent. http://www.law.cornell.edu/patent/35uscs271.html http://www.law.cornell.edu/patent/35uscs271.html It says nothing about noncommercial use. If you want confirmation, ask Duke University. It tried to argue that non-commercial research use should be protected in the case Madey v. Duke University. It lost. The Federal Circuit (the court that deals with patent appeals) held that research use is still use of the invention and still violates the law. http://www.bakerbotts.com/infocenter/publications/detail.aspx?id=b7930f1d-b945-4f95-b825-fa9ac70c16af http://www.bakerbotts.com/infocenter/publications/detail.asp... Here's another good summary of the Duke case: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied an "experimental use defense" in a patent infringement lawsuit against Duke University, signaling that academic researchers may be liable for use of patented equipment and processes even without use for commercial purposes. The court declared that the noncommercial character of the research in Madey v. Duke University was irrelevant. What matters is whether the research "is in keeping with the alleged infringer's legitimate business, regardless of commercial implications." In the case of a university, noncommercial research is "legitimate business," subject to the patent laws. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/299/5609/1018?siteid=sci&ijkey=kOiAnw9uhtbsM&keytype=ref http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/299/5609/1018?...