From owner-chemistry@ccl.net Mon Feb 27 14:53:01 2006
From: "David van der Spoel spoel{:}xray.bmc.uu.se" <owner-chemistry*o*server.ccl.net>
To: CCL
Subject: CCL: software pattents in chemistry?
Message-Id: <-31016-060227144155-5546-LYLpHJnyiZ5B+76vrDeXKA*o*server.ccl.net>
X-Original-From: David van der Spoel <spoel(0)xray.bmc.uu.se>
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:36:18 +0100
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Sent to CCL by: David van der Spoel [spoel- -xray.bmc.uu.se]
Egon Willighagen e.willighagen%a%science.ru.nl wrote:
> Sent to CCL by: Egon Willighagen [e.willighagen]_[science.ru.nl]
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Today I learned that software pattents have hit chemistry, chemoinformatics in 
> this case:
> 
> http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=WO2005001743&F=0
> 
> I have no idea on the impact of this pattent, but was wondering if others saw 
> more software pattents in chemistry, and wether software pattents in 
> chemistry affected work in our field. 
> 
> Anyone who has experience with software pattents in cheminformatics, 
> computational chemistry and the likes?
> 
> Egon
> 
This is bad.

I had an idea some time ago that could help to insure ourselves from 
problems related to patents. If there were a repository for software 
that is in a public place, like a scientific journal (e.g. JCC or JCTC), 
where one could upload new versions of the code (together with a 
one-page description of the software) then there would be a public 
track-record of software that can be used in patent-cases as  proof of 
prior art. Of course the software needs to be under a license that 
allows redistribution. Simultaneously this would be a great source of 
information.

How would you feel about contributing to something like this? I gather 
that if there is enough support from the community we could convince one 
of the journals to do something like this.


-- 
David.
________________________________________________________________________
David van der Spoel, PhD, Assoc. Prof., Molecular Biophysics group,
Dept. of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University.
Husargatan 3, Box 596,  	75124 Uppsala, Sweden
phone:	46 18 471 4205		fax: 46 18 511 755
spoel{=}xray.bmc.uu.se	spoel{=}gromacs.org   http://folding.bmc.uu.se
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