Re: SSSCA Hits the Senate

[Herman Oosthuysen]

----- Original Message -----
From: Rik van Riel <[e-mail]>
> The fact that the source code is available doesn't give you
> the right to use it, if some company has a patent on the
> technology ...

If the law requires you to use it, then M$ won't be able to charge royalties
for a patent on it. There are enough precedents of that kind of thing, so it
will be free.

The whole idea however remains impractical, so even if it does pass into
law, it would be largely irrelivant to any marginally competent geek.

What the music industry fails to understand, is that the music doesn't sell
because it is bad.  No amount of controls can compensate for that.  Garbage
in, Garbage out...  Maybe they should go back to vinyl records that play on
wind-up players with rose thorn pickups.  That will instantly make music
recordings incompatible with all CD equipment and nobody will want to copy
it...
--
Herman Oosthuysen
[e-mail]
Suite 300, #3016, 5th Ave NE,
Calgary, Alberta, T2A 6K4, Canada
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