Re: NO! (Re: Does GNUstep infringe on Apple's Intellectual Property?)

[Jason Clouse]

I also do not wish to engage in a lengthy discussion, nor do I wish to argue.  But I have 
to agree that your assessment of the situation is a bit pessimistic.  Primarily, you and 
John seem to be confusing copyright with patent (functionality and process), design 
patent ("Look and Feel"), or trade secret issues.  Granted, there might be a 
few places where the project could be vulnerable there (though this is unlikely to be 
much of a real world problem) but copyright has very little to do with this situation.

At any rate, even if this were the case, John's porting of his own software 
isn't endangering him, which seems to have been his primary concern.

Obviously, he would be wise to retain legal counsel if he's going into 
business.  And it's always a good idea to be proactive where the law is 
concerned.  But I think this discussion is starting to turn into something 
which is going to needlessly frighten people away.  I think we've already spent 
too much time worrying about it.  So I'll shut up now and stop spouting. :-)