Frequently asked questions about patents and free telephony
FAQ
documentation in progress
Copyright © 2007 Steve Underwood
This document can be freely redistributed according to the
terms of the GNU General Public License.
Table of Contents
- Isn't it wrong that people can keep these patents secret?
- If I implement something in software outside the USA, I am free from patent problems. Right?
- If I build a clean room implementation of some software, I have no patent problems. Right?
- If I build a clean room implementation of some software, I have no trade secret problems. Right?
- I don't know of any patents applicable to what I am doing, so I am OK. Right?
- Software patents only exist in the USA, so I can freely use things like G.729 in Europe. Right?
- If I wish really hard, and twist everything people say, then I can come to the conclusion that patents on things like voice compression techniques don't apply to me. Right?
- I cannot use the GPL licence on something like a G.729 implementation,
because it is patented. Right?
- What if I implement something which is patented, purely to teach myself about the subject?
- Nobody has pressed any claims so far, so it must be OK. Right?
- There is lots of prior art for what I am doing, so I can ignore the bogus patents. Right?
- I've read the patent standing in my way, and its full of stuff that is clearly old hat. How can they patent that?
- I've read the patent standing in my way, and I only infringe a few of its claims. Does that mean I am OK?
- How come publicly available standards have been tied to patented techniques? Doesn't this give the patent holders a monopoly position?
- I often see the term "prior art" in relation to patents. What does it mean?
- You can't patent pure maths. Compression is pure maths, so how can it be patented?
- Software cannot be patented in the EU, right?
- Can I freely distribute software using patented techniques in the EU? The software on its own doesn't do anything, right?
- If the European Patent Office has issued patents which contravene the rules, can I ignore them?
Patents are a significant problem for freely implemented VoIP systems. This is mostly because the potential profits from mobile communications provoked a frenzy of patenting anything related to voice processing in the 1990s. A lot of people spout a lot of misinformed rubbish about this. The same questions, and wrong answers, keep getting passed around. Its time for an FAQ.
I am not a lawyer. Treat this FAQ only as an outline guide, based on knowledge gained through years of engineering. Do not assume anything in the FAQ is completely reliable. Even if I were a lawyer, it would still be impractical to write an FAQ reliable in all countries and over time.
Isn't it wrong that people can keep these patents secret?
This is a very odd misconception some people have. The word patent actually means open. When you patent a technique you openly publish it. In return, the government offers you legal protection against other people using the same idea for a limited period. This is usually 15 to 20 years, depending on the country and other circumstances. Many countries make the text of all patents freely available for inspection on a web site. Still, some people have this strange notion that a patent is some form of secret.
A small number of patents are, in fact, kept secret in some countries. These are for techniques considered to have military potential.