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I posted our IP expert's opinion. You know, someone who is a lawyer and who understands the law. And more than that, someone who actually specializes in IP law. Perhaps I should pay for an opinion that I can publish here verbatim. No doubt you'd not accept that though, as you're interested only in defending your position regardless of evidence.
Are we talking about the license or their current wishes? Two separate things. I'm talking about the license.
Again, I think you misunderstand how the law works here. You don't sue someone to find out if you're infringing or not. It's incumbent upon the owner of the IP to protect his or her IP. Aside from anything else, the DIKU guys have shown a lot less interest in defending their license than you have, it must be said. They don't care enough to take action, or don't view DIKU as worth enough to bother taking action to find out whether their interpretation has any legal validity.
That's right, but he didn't. Neither did the DIKU guys.
Hey, that's pretty convenient for you alright. Your position then is that until DIKU sues, the DIKU team can say the license means whatever they want. Funny, but that's ridiculous, of course.
I'm interested in the license, not what the DIKU guys now say the license means or what they say their intent was upon writing it.
A license is a contract, and there are two parties to a contract. Someone using the DIKU code under the DIKU license has just as much right to their interpretation as the other party in the contract (the DIKU guys) does. When they disagree, the courts are there. The fact that the DIKU guys have chosen not to actually find out if their interpretation is correct says a heck of a lot to me, given that they're the ones who you allege feel injured.
Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we split the cost of hiring a recognized American IP lawyer and pay for a written opinion on the license. Wouldn't it be nice to have an expert opinion to rely on? Surely you'd like that, rather than having to rely on your layman's understanding of the law. We could ask him or her a couple things:
1. Is the DIKU license still enforceable given
a. The inability of licensees to fulfill the provisions of the contract, through fault of the DIKU team (ie their email addys are no longer valid and the license requires people to notify the DIKU team when they start a new DIKU)
b. The utter lack of effort the DIKU team has exerted in protecting their intellectual property.
2. Does the DIKU license prohibit profit (which is what it says) or does it prohibit whatever you think it says (revenue? I have no idea.)
So how about it? I'm serious, incidentally. I'm not scared of what an expert's opinion is going to be. Are you? I know I'm open to having my mind changed. Are you? Or is it easier to just hold fast to your opinion, intentionally not seeking the opinion of experts because they might kill your sacred cow?
--matt
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