[SciPy-dev] Python (Enthought Edition) for Windows test release

[Robert Kern]

Robert Kern wrote:

> (Before I begin, I will state that I am not a lawyer; this is not legal 
> advice.)
> 
> Which ones? Two of the patents look like they are going to expire this 
> summer (assuming the usual 20-year patent term) but not before then. One 
> of the patents is still pending.

Oops. I was wrong. The 20-year term wasn't enacted until 1995. Patents 
filed before then usually have a 17-year term[1] (Note: this is all 
Google-fu, not a legal opinion. If you need one, please retain your own 
lawyer and ask him). It looks like Marching Cubes/Squares and Dividing 
Cubes *may* be safe to use. I'll look into futzing with the VTK build 
process to be able to compile just these classes.

[1] 
http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode35/usc_sec_35_00000154----000-.html

-- 
Robert Kern
rkern at ucsd.edu

"In the fields of hell where the grass grows high
  Are the graves of dreams allowed to die."
   -- Richard Harter