Software patents in europe

[kegetys 2]

Theres only so many ways to make a 3d tree.

Could you explain to me this?  I'm thinking in a differnt dimension.  There's got to be hundreds of ways to make a tree.

Well, if we talk about hardware accelerated 3D engines, then there is really only one way to draw a 3D tree. That would propably be something like "A method of drawing a three dimensional tree object using texturemapped triangles". Good luck on trying to make a tree in ofp2 for example without violating that...

[Supah 0]

Reading through this it seems to me like this will lead to an unworkable situation and will kill off loads and loads of companies thereby destroying lots of jobs. Whats the use in making games if your not allowed to have trees in them? What if your making lets say a HL mod and someone has a patent on having guns in games? No more mods. This could seriously hamper opensource/freeware initiatives.

[killswitch 19]

Reading through this it seems to me like this will lead to an unworkable situation and will kill off loads and loads of companies thereby destroying lots of jobs.

And that is exactly the intention. Big companies, much like spoiled brats grabbing everyones' toys, don't like the idea of a free market economy. It's all under the chapter "consolidation of power" in the book of corporate fascism. Or "freedom" as they have spin-doctored it to sound... Software patents are meant to further their control and stifling a lot of development.

They are a different kind of hippies, dazed and confused by the $/€.

Oh well, in time, they too, just like n*zis and commies, will be a thing of the past...

[der bastler 0]

This could seriously hamper opensource/freeware initiatives.

That's exactly what the companies want. OpenOffice, Gimp, etc... no more unwanted competitors.

Here are some examples of existing patents...

http://swpat.ffii.org/patente/muster/index.en.html

EDIT: definitions to add

BIS created OFP; Nobody else can make money with OFP-addons or OFP-mods without asking BIS. That's Copyright, and it's automatically activated without the need to pay for it.

BIS got a patent on "simulating a battelfield with land, air and sea forces using 3D graphics in an electronic game"; That'd be very expensive for the creators of Battlefield:1942 or similar programs...

Copyright: protect your product (book, song, machine, software)

Patent: protect idea behind your product

[Hit_Sqd_Maximus 0]

Quote[/b] ]ep0548645 2 2 These guys pretend they invented Window management - in 1993! As if nobody had used windows before, say Xerox, Apple, Atari, Amiga or Microsoft, just as a random overview. There even were plenty of hardware implementations before. These guys are NUTS. That's an official qualification.

[USMC Sniper 0]

On the topic of patents, I heard Microsoft has to change it's internet browser (Internet Explorer) because of a patent, and it will cause many websites not to work.

[EiZei 0]

Lets hope the patents keep biting the asses of big corporations, then we might actually might see them going away even in US.

[der bastler 0]

On the topic of patents, I heard Microsoft has to change it's internet browser (Internet Explorer) because of a patent, and it will cause many websites not to work.

Only the plugins won't work (Flash, Real Audio, etc...), because there's a patent on using linked external-program content in web documents. If they'd include the binary data in the documents, there would be no patent problem --but who wants bloated page files?

And W3C-compliant sites will still work, so what?

btw: Why should one use IE? There are other free, stable and secure browsers available. When I read "optimized for IE and 800x600" ( ) I know that the web designer doesn't have any clue of what the internet is about (key word "platform-independent") and what W3C is...

[kegetys 2]

btw: Why should one use IE? There are other free, stable and secure browsers available..

While I do agree with you on that, it doesnt matter if its IE or not, all browsers that support plugins violate that patent.

[GoOB 0]

Hmmm, this sounds quite dumb. Or rather very dumb. Why can't I get a patent on the way I walk and talk? Or even a patent on breathing. That'd be swell.

[der bastler 0]

Hmmm, this sounds quite dumb. Or rather very dumb. Why can't I get a patent on the way I walk and talk? Or even a patent on breathing. That'd be swell.

God (or the entity you worship; otherwise: evolution) already got the patent on that... prior art...

[Renagade 0]

This could seriously hamper opensource/freeware initiatives.

That's exactly what the companies want. OpenOffice, Gimp, etc... no more unwanted competitors.

Here are some examples of existing patents...

http://swpat.ffii.org/patente/muster/index.en.html

EDIT: definitions to add

BIS created OFP; Nobody else can make money with OFP-addons or OFP-mods without asking BIS. That's Copyright, and it's automatically activated without the need to pay for it.

BIS got a patent on "simulating a battelfield with land, air and sea forces using 3D graphics in an electronic game"; That'd be very expensive for the creators of Battlefield:1942 or similar programs...

Copyright: protect your product (book, song, machine, software)

Patent: protect idea behind your product

Im going t o do a U-turn in my opinion of this,just by remembering those stupid licenses that we get in our PC programs which i hate so much so they can go fuck themselves.

Quote[/b] ]BIS created OFP; Nobody else can make money with OFP-addons or OFP-mods without asking BIS. That's Copyright, and it's automatically activated without the need to pay for it.

yeah but if had ur own program to make add-ons,i mean this in general too like if it was half life we`re talkin about then they can go FOAD.

I mean its not like u go in a store and every single product has some stupid license with it saying what u can and can`t do with it,like dismantle it for example

[Baron Hurlothrumbo IIX 0]

yeah but  if had ur own program to make add-ons,i mean this  in general too  like  if it was  half life we`re   talkin about then they can go FOAD.

I  mean  its not like u go  in  a store and every single  product has some stupid license with it saying what  u can  and can`t do with  it,like dismantle it for example

Now I admit I may be misunderstanding this semi-coherent post, but

You can't *sell* addons to a game without permission from the game creators/ copyright holders, regardless of how you made them. The Gunman mod addon thing, CS and Day Of Defeat, all had to get permission and were in fact CS and DoD were bought over by valve prior to selling the game.

And it IS exactly like you go into a store and every single item has a license with it stating EXACTLY what you can do and cannot do with it: that is what happens in reality. Especially for software.

[Renagade 0]

Quote[/b] ]Now I admit I may be misunderstanding this semi-coherent post, but

You can't *sell* addons to a game without permission from the game creators/ copyright holders, regardless of how you made them. The Gunman mod addon thing, CS and Day Of Defeat, all had to get permission and were in fact CS and DoD were bought over by valve prior to selling the game

CS and DoD used valves stuff though.I`m sure ages ago ppl use to sell map packs for other games without having to do a deal withh the makers.

Think of it this way,honda makes a car,say if i was the manufacturer of car accesories like chromes exhausts and gear sticks etc,would i have to pay honda because i make stuff for their cars

In the same way if u buy a dremel drill for example u dont get a leafelet saying that whatever work u do with it,u have to pay dremel

Quote[/b] ]And it IS exactly like you go into a store and every single item has a license with it stating EXACTLY what you can do and cannot do with it: that is what happens in reality.

give me an example of this.