Re: [ft-devel] Apple Patents on font hinting expired?

[Antoine Leca]

Russell Hay wrote:
> Apologies if this is a much revisited topic, but I noticed that in the 
> archives of this mailing list, there are some end dates stated for the 
> relevant Apple patents;
>
> http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/freetype-devel/2006-11/msg00006.html
>
> <which states that//>
>
> they are, respectively, 1992-10-13 and 1992-10-27, corresponding to 
> expiration dates of:
>
> 5,155,805: October 13, 2009
> 5,159,668: October 27, 2009
>
> ...has this 'removed the restrictions on distributing the the bytecode 
> interpreter?

[ I believe the restrictions are not upon distribution but rather upon
  use. But that is unimportant. ]

As we know, Apple did file a few more patent requests. One of them, of 
special relevance, is FR19900005712 19900507 (a follow-up of request 
US19890348703 19890508 which is now U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,668).
This request was granted by the French Patent Office under No. 2,646,729 
(FR2646729, dated 1990-11-09; more details in French at
http://fr.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?KC=A1&date=19901109&;
NR=2646729A1&DB=fr.espacenet.com&locale=fr_FR&CC=FR&FT=D if you rebuild 
the brocken URL.)

I am not a lawyer, and I cannot decide exactly if the expiration date of 
this particular patent is October 27th this year or May 5th next year 
(20 years from filing, the valid rule for French patents). Yet I think 
this may be relevant, particularly since David is living in France...

Sorry Daddy^W David to awake you, but I believe you are the one who 
should answer on this one...


Antoine

PS: I would love to know the valid expiration date was October 27th. But 
after re-reading your mail referenced above, particularly
	And don't forget that there are equivalent EU, UK and FR patents 	(at 
least), which may have been filed later, with even later
        expiration dates.