Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: Gothic Chess Patent Links...

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 06:45:58 01/08/04

Go up one level in this thread


On January 07, 2004 at 18:29:19, Keith Evans wrote:

>On January 07, 2004 at 13:57:31, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>
>>On January 07, 2004 at 12:43:01, Ed Trice wrote:
>>
>>>On January 07, 2004 at 12:22:50, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>I think my attorney's original take on this still stands.  You can patent the
>>>>game, but you really can't prevent someone from writing a program that _plays_
>>>>that particular game, and then he can do with it what he wants, from selling it
>>>>or giving it away.
>>>
>>>This is very, very, very incorrect. Please acknowledge that I am advising you
>>>that all of these posts are now being logged.
>>
>>
>>Please log away.  You have published the rules.  I will certainly write a
>>program
>>to _play_ that game should I choose to do so, and I would not mind taking this
>>to any court you might choose.  You can patent something and prevent me from
>>making and selling whatever it was you patented, but you can _not_ prevent
>>me from making one for my own use.  black-letter case law applies there.
>
>Earlier you said "...then he can do with it what he wants, from selling it..."
>but now you say "... making one for my own use." Those are two different
>statements. I doubt that Ed cares about the latter.

I don't know that either is a problem.  IE "the game" is a far different thing
from "a program that _plays_ the game."  IE do you think Parker Brothers could
file suit should I write a program that simply is a participant in a game of
monopoly?  I don't.  Writing a program to play the game has _nothing_ to do with
the actual game itself, in this context...




This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.