Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!know!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!swatsun!gessel From: gessel@cs.swarthmore.edu (Daniel Mark Gessel) Newsgroups: comp.graphics Subject: Pixar's patent on stochastic image generation Message-ID: Date: 25 Oct 90 18:52:17 GMT Organization: Swarthmore College, PA, USA Lines: 24 As I understand it, Pixar's patent on using stochastic processes to Anti-Alias an image covers all forms of image generation, and all things one would want to anti alias (space, time, depth of field, etc). Every year, techniques for generating really cool pictures based on stochastic sampling are published in the SIGGRAPH conference proceedings. Does anybody know why? That is, can anyone legally use these techniques before the patent runs out (17 years from when it was issued, I think)? Has Pixar ever sued anyone? Since it's research, can Pixar sue the people who do the research (I assume not). It's that all these techniques are really nice. If I wanted to write and sell a renderer, or write and sell movies that are generated with that renderer, would I have to get a license from Pixar? Any help would be greatly appreciated, Dan -- Internet: gessel@cs.swarthmore.edu UUCP: {bpa,cbmvax}!swatsun!gessel