Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: X-10 schematics wanted
Message-ID: <1989Mar12.040700.21584@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <1657@trantor.harris-atd.com> <6449@dayton.UUCP> <19857@prls.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 12 Mar 89 04:07:00 GMT

In article <19857@prls.UUCP> gordon@prls.UUCP (Gordon Vickers) writes:
>    I don't beleive this is correct.  As I understand it, it is perfectly
> legal to duplicate (even exactly) anything that is protected by a patent.
> The restriction is that you SHOULD not then sell the device...
>    Duplicating something that is protected under patent is fine if the
> device is built for personal use, i.e. not made for profit.

Sorry, this is wrong.  You are thinking of copyright law, which has
exemptions for "fair use".  THERE IS NO SUCH PROVISION IN PATENT LAW.
A patent owner has absolute, total control of his invention (assuming
he has the resources to find and sue the violators).  Building one for
your own personal use *is* a patent infringement.  Of course, in
practice the patent owner (a) probably won't find you, and (b) probably
won't bother suing an individual who's not making a profit on it, but
legal it's not.
-- 
Welcome to Mars!  Your         |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
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