Re: [gNewSense-users] FTL patent in kernel

[Bake Timmons]

Alexandre Oliva <address@hidden> writes:

> On Apr  8, 2008, Bake Timmons <address@hidden> wrote:
>
>>> Use of the FTL format for non-PCMCIA applications may be an
>>> infringement of these patents.  For additional information,
>>> contact M-Systems (http://www.m-sys.com) directly.
>
>> There is no *copyright* restriction on ftl.c that makes it non-free
>> software, so it is surely is free.
>
> Err...  Software freedom is not about copyright.  It's about technical
> or legal means one could use to disrespect any of the four freedoms.
>

Thanks for the correction and the reminders.  My opinion was indeed
not a valid inference but a guess based on the information presented.
However, ftl.c still appears to be free software.  The nasty effect of
the patent note applies as well to any other file as it does to ftl.c.
E.g., if I modified Emacs to use FTL format for non-PCMCIA
applications, my code could possibly be infringing and thus possibly
be non-free.  Am I missing anything here?