*BSD News Article 2395


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!uunet!psgrain!hippo!spel
From: spel@hippo.ru.ac.za (Dr. Eberhard W. Lisse)
Subject: Re: AT&T vs. BSDI --> 4.3BSD-NET2 distribution requires AT&T license!!!
Message-ID: <1992Jul24.111357.5974@hippo.ru.ac.za>
Keywords: AT&T 'Death Star' rises over BSDI's horizon [Tel. 1-800-800-4BSD
Organization: Katatura State Hospital, Windhoek, Namibia
References: <1992Jul21.142631.14517@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> <mcuddy.711795634@fensende> <1992Jul22.212903.29537@gateway.novell.com> <1823@adagio.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 11:13:57 GMT
Lines: 46

In <1823@adagio.UUCP> grog@adagio.UUCP (Greg Lehey) writes:

>In article <1992Jul22.212903.29537@gateway.novell.com> terry@npd.Novell.COM (Terry Lambert) writes:
>>*** prediction alert *** prediction alert *** prediction alert ***
>>
>>I think that AT&T will win; not on the merits of reality, but on the merits
>>of their arguments.  It will be difficult, without educating the judge to
>>the point of a CS degree, to draw the distinctions necessary to prove
>>non-infringement by BSDI.  It certainly *looks* like BSDI is infringing
>>to a layman, and that's what the judge will be.

>Well, I sincerely hope you're wrong; but I also believe you will be.
>Certainly AT&Ts win/lose situation won't be based on `the merits of
>reality', but on the other hand they have so far not been able to give
>a single example of where the alleged infringement is. I don't believe
>they want to win; they're playing this court case relatively low-key,
>and I suspect their motives are more to keep BSDI from doing real work
>(like a production release of BSD/386) and to keep potential customers
>away. That way, they don't need to win.

On a recent congress I attended in Boston one of the speakers
(a Professorin Consumer Law) on medical liability said
something which applies here:

'You must make 12 idiots from the street (who were too stupid
to avoid jury duty in the first place) understand a complex 
situtation. So nobody can predict how this is going to come out'

:-)-O


It really doesn't help to discuss the ifs and whens and so on
if this trial is going to a jury. Send letters to the board of
USL's parent company telling why you start using MCI, that
will hlep if enough people do it (but how many will do this
100, 1000? They laugh about it)

If they go after Jolix then I suggest they put the sources on
one of the boxes in the CIS where there is no copyright.

regards, el
-- 
Dr. Eberhard W. Lisse    \          /                   (spel@hippo.ru.ac.ZA)
Katatura State Hospital   \        |                            (el@lisse.NA)
Dept of Obstetrics & Gyn   \ *    /                         Private Bag 13215
Windhoek, Namibia           ;____/ (postmaster@uonamib.NA) Postmaster NAmibia