Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!orca.wv.tek.com!pogo!bluneski
From: bluneski@pogo.WV.TEK.COM (Bob Luneski)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Tetris variants
Message-ID: <9220@pogo.WV.TEK.COM>
Date: 13 Jun 90 15:40:56 GMT
References: <21774@snow-white.udel.EDU> <57314@bbn.BBN.COM> <21780@estelle.udel.EDU>
Reply-To: bluneski@pogo.WV.TEK.COM (Bob Luneski)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville,  OR.
Lines: 36

In article <21780@estelle.udel.EDU> new@ee.udel.edu (Darren New) writes:
>In article <57314@bbn.BBN.COM> cosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) writes:
>>The court found that Rubik's cube, despite having a >TOTALLY different mechanism 
>>infringed on the >fellow's patent.  >  /Bernie\
>
>Aye, but a patent is a patent and a copyright is a copyright.
>These are two totally different beasts.  A copyright does not 
>prevent me from reinventing something; a patent does (or at least
>it keeps me from selling it.) Has SH patented Tetris?    -- Darren


True, True. The Rubik's cube case was determined to be PATENT infringement
because of the way the patent claim was written-> Means+Function. i.e. his
patent covered any reasonable means to achive that functionality. The other
fellows mechanism was striken down as eqivilant means.  I have done 
a patent search and there are no US patents assigned to Spectrum Holobyte
covering Tetris.

Next possibility is trademark infrigement by the clones using Tetris like 
names. This is a legitimate beef if Tetris is a legally registered trademark
assigned to Spectrum Holobyte.  I was not able to determine this from my
search. The illegal use of the Tetris name in similar sounding names is
a very definate infringement of thier rights.

Next comes copyright infringement.  The key here is independent derivation
and the burden of proof is on Spectrum Holobyte.  You are allowed to 
reinvent the wheel as long as you don't use the same spokes.  Spectrum
Holobyte must prove that each author individually had access to and used
portions of their code.  This can include portions of disassembled code if
they can prove that the author had their executable and a disassembler and
they can find the code segment in the clone executable.  But the burden of
proof is on Spectrum Holobyte and their beef is with the authors not Fred.


Bob Luneski
bluneski@pogo.WV.TEK.COM