OpenGL Floating Point Textures No Longer Encumbered By Patents, Enabled In Mesa

[caligula]

They were also meant as a way to not lose knowledge because the "owners" were afraid to make it public but then lose access to it themselves (for example because the inventor dies). So I also sympathies with the idea, the problems is that the laws are pretty screwed up (same for copyrights, thanks to Disney, we will soon have a indefinite time for copyrights)

Disney has such huge influence due to the fucked up politics and cronyism. The majority would disagree with such practices in a free democracy consisting of educated people.

[stormcrow]

Disney has such huge influence due to the fucked up politics and cronyism. The majority would disagree with such practices in a free democracy consisting of educated people.

Disney has a similar effect on politics at state and local level down in Florida around Orlando and the various other properties it owns in other areas of the state. It's so huge and such a engine for the economies that it can demand and usually get most concessions from state and local law and policy makers. Money talks regardless of the forum. As a local/state example they mucked up the works on the proposed high speed rail to parallel I-4 to relieve traffic congestion by demanding it only stop at Disney properties and not their competitors (or it couldn't stop at Disney World at all) till Jeb Bush (governor at the time) lobbied for and got it dropped entirely from the budget because it'd effectively been derailed by them tossing their money around.

That said, when Disney started pulling in foreign workers, and at the end fired a host of local citizens in Orlando that kinda was the last straw with some of the local citizenry and started some backlashes against sweet (all one sided) land tax deals. I can only hope that the enmity that Disney has started to generate curtail their national lobbying effects as well. I guess it has somewhat, they haven't tried to buy another copyright extension yet as Steamboat Willie reaches the end of copyright coverage next year.

[rene]

You can't really keep things trade secrets in software industry unless you keep it locked up in an inaccessible server. Everything gets reverse engineered sooner or later

However, often reverse engineering is more work than just implementing a new idea, so, ..! ;-)

[kaprikawn]

Why would they put something that is encumbered by patents in the OpenGL spec?

[Nille]

Well, currently the best we can hope for is that patent terms become shorter.

All signs are show the different direction.

Same could be said about the copyright terms. Life + 70 years (+ 75/80 years in some countries) is way too long.

The USA has extended this time again. Sound records from 1923 up to 1973 are now again protected until 2067. 144 Years for the first works. Thats insane.

Why would they put something that is encumbered by patents in the OpenGL spec?

Money

[starshipeleven]

Have their place where? Software is mathematics and algorithms, neither of which is patentable.

Why should algorithms be not patentable? Is a process not as valuable as a physical design (which also is technically speaking implementing some algorithm at the physical level)?

The issue is the lenght of the patent, 20 years is an eternity, still less insane bs than copyright that is like a century, but removing patents at all would mean that everything would become a closely-guarded trade secret, which is much worse for innovation.

[starshipeleven]

I can only hope that the enmity that Disney has started to generate curtail their national lobbying effects as well. I guess it has somewhat, they haven't tried to buy another copyright extension yet as Steamboat Willie reaches the end of copyright coverage next year.

Steamboat Willie ---> Star Wars.

If you know what I mean.

[cl333r]

Then how did Vulkan work up until now in Mesa drivers? I'm sure it's also got floating point textures, no?

[treba]

Well, currently the best we can hope for is that patent terms become shorter. The industry won't tolerate the total absence of patents. 10 years sounds a lot better than 20. 20 years not only gives you a competitive edge, but totally eliminates open source competition until the tech is totally obsolete.

Same could be said about the copyright terms. Life + 70 years (+ 75/80 years in some countries) is way too long. The (C) wasn't designed to support your great-grandchildren.

Well, many of these patents do AFAIK only apply in the US as it has a very liberal, in my view somewhat out of control, patent law. I don't think this patent was valid in the EU, Japan or China. So in future trade agreements (which will probably cover patent-issues as well) , we should totally lobby for a saner approach to what is actually patentable and what not.

[kpedersen]

Why would they put something that is encumbered by patents in the OpenGL spec?

I agree, this is daft.

Could Khronos / OpenGL / Vulkan protect itself from this in future? Something in the license stating that extensions to OpenGL cannot be patent-able.

I doubt this will weaken OpenGL / Vulkan. The alternatives Direct X and Metal just are not desirable these days. Plus if we can get these two even more encumbered with patent crud, it might even reduce their uptake even more