taskSoftware Patents examples - Tasks: task #203, Harmful patent: memory leaks

 
 

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task #203: Harmful patent: memory leaks

Submitter:  Hugo Gayosso <hgayosso>
Submitted:  -
   
 
Category:  Patent Database Should Start On:  Tue 05 Jun 2001 04:00:00 AM UTC
Should be Finished on:  Sun 10 Jun 2001 04:00:00 AM UTC Priority:  5 - Normal
Status:  None Privacy:  Public
Assigned to:  honey Percent Complete:  Any
Open/Closed:  Open Effort:  0.00

-, original submission:  

From: Francois PELLEGRINI <pelegrin@labri.u-bordeaux.fr>
Subject: Harmful patent: memory leaks
To: patent-examples@gnu.org,
        Francois PELLEGRINI <pelegrin@labri.u-bordeaux.fr>
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 16:54:51 +0100
Organization: ENSERB & LaBRI, Universite Bordeaux I


Hello,


  • I have one example in mind :


  I think Bruce Perens was threatened over his ElectricFence bounds
  checking system for C programs by a company which obtained a patent
  while he was still developing it.
  If I remember well, the memory leak checking algorithm was patented by
  Pure Software for its "Purify" tool. Pure software merged with Atria
  (www.pureatria.com), and finally got swallowed by Rational Software
  (www.rational.com).
  If I remember well, Pure Software reportedly threatened to sue any
  individual trying to produce a libre enhanced version of memory-leak
  checkers. It is why, although the need for such a tool is obvious in
  any libre distribution for developers, it is still missing.

  • Another example :

  The same for the guys who developed BladeEnc for MP3, who are
threatened
  by Thomson Multimedia, which licences the MP3 patents.

  • A last case I have in mind:

  I have been told that register coloring, although the best available
  algorithm for register allocation in compilers, is not implemented in
  GCC because of an IBM patent...


Good luck,


f.p.



--
François PELLEGRINI        +33.5.56.84.69.35     
-email is unavailable-
Maître de Conférences, ENSEIRB                         
http://www.enseirb.fr/
Chercheur au LaBRI, Université Bordeaux I     
http://www.labri.u-bordeaux.fr/
Membre d'Eurolinux                             
http://petition.eurolinux.org/


Hugo Gayosso <hgayosso>
Group administrator

 

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