Re: [RFC/PATCH 0/2] u_char.c and mtp.c patches

[Felipe Balbi <felipe.balbi@nokia.com>]

On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 12:44:51AM +0200, ext Greg KH wrote:
>If you know the patent numbers, please send them to me.  There are very
>simple methods of routing around patents.  Also, the USB-IF is very
>interested in patents that cover USB related things, as they could
>possibly violate the USB-IF agreement that companies are forced to sign
>to join it.

you might have better contacts than I do. Last time I contacted them 
regarding MS problems - at that time, I was complaining that Windows 
doesn't fetch all config descriptors - they replied that "other devices 
have passed USB Certification, so why can't you?"

It's too bad when the Specification authority doesn't want to hear about 
mis-implementations of their own specification. Anyways...

Take a look here:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/connect/usb/os_desc.mspx

it doesn't say the patent number but it does say that "Microsoft agrees 
to grant a nonexclusive, royalty-free, world-wide license under these 
copyrights, patents or applications solely to implement the Microsoft OS 
Descriptor Specification to interface with (i) a Microsoft OS Descriptor 
enabled operating system or (ii) other systems authorized by Microsoft 
to retrieve and use this information, on condition that you agree not to 
assert any intellectual property rights against Microsoft or other 
companies for their implementation of the Specification."

We just need to check whether Linux falls into the "other systems 
authorized by Microsoft" category. I would guess not :-p

-- 
balbi