Legal/Permission Question

[Sean Kelly]

Dave wrote:
> Dan wrote:
>> David B. Held Wrote:
>>>
>>> Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design and 
>>> keep in mind that while the clean room technique may be a defense 
>>> against copyright infringement, it is not a defense against patents 
>>> (not sure if Walter has any patents on any D stuff, or if anyone 
>>> does, but this seems like the smaller risk for you).  The fact that 
>>> you are already part of the D community may strongly imply that you 
>>> are already tainted.
>>>
> 
> Hmmm - I'd have to question that last line. I mean geesh... Besides, 
> what really is the "D community". It'd be hard to prove in court what 
> that in itself means, with public NG's and all ;)

The problem seems to be a fear of litigation rather than whether such a 
case could actually be won or lost.  Even pre-court negotiation and such 
can be quite expensive if IP lawyers are involved, and many cases 
unfortunately rely on the accused to settle rather than to pay for a 
trial (since it is often tremendously cheaper to do so).  If it came to 
it, my first step would probably be to contact the EFF and discuss my 
options with them.


Sean