[odf-discuss] OpenDocument traps, was: UPGRADE monograph about OpenDocument and OOXML

[M. Fioretti]

On Sun, Apr 01, 2007 13:07:37 PM +0200, Thomas Zander (zander at kde.org) wrote:

> On Sunday 01 April 2007 12:49, M. Fioretti wrote:
> > Feedback is welcome,
> 
> Your part about patents is not entirely well thought out.
> A file format is pretty hard to patent; there tend to be ways to
> write a piece of software to convert it to another file format and
> 'free' the document.

I know, but this would only be enough (at least for a Public
Administration which _should_ do everything by the letter of the law,
which is the main context I worry and write about) if it were legal to
write, distribute and publicly use (even once) that piece of software
converter to free the document. At least as far as Free software is
concerned.

> But, sure, like mp3 has patent probems, there is some truth in it.
> The bigger issue I have with your story is that this specific item
> does not give problems for long term storage of the content. For the
> simple reason that a patent is time limited.

I *assume* you refer to this sentence:

1)	it is possible to have a perfectly Free as in Freedom XML
	container which is full of patent-ridden components

If this is the case, please note that I say, in the previous
paragraph:

2)	Objects of this kind can be placed inside an OpenDocument file
	even if their format is accessible only through patent-covered
	or otherwise proprietary software

where "otherwise" includes trade secrets, documentation which was
never written or destroyed after a while or everything else whose
effects are not time-limited. This said, even in sentence (1) I _did_
have in mind both patent-ridden or "otherwise proprietary software".

I agree, however, that I left space for confusion by not repeating all
cases explicitly even in the following paragraph.

Thanks,
	Marco

-- 
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