[vtk-developers] vtkPatented copyright...

Brad King brad.king at kitware.com
Tue Jan 25 08:55:24 EST 2005

Goodwin Lawlor wrote:
> Can I distribute a binary (
> http://www.bioengineering-research.com/vtk/vtkit.htm ), for free, that
> includes the vtkPatented library- so long as the kitware copyright appears
> along with it? I know users had to compile the patented library before- a
> binary couldn't be download from kitware (this may have changed).
> Could someone use VTKit to make a starpack (commercial) application that
> didn't use the vtkPatented library but had the library linked. Or should
> there be a non-vtkPatented version of VTKit aswell?
> I presume if someone wanted to use the patented classes in VTKit, they could
> apply for a license from the appropiate source?

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, the answer below is from my understanding 
of the situation.

The code in the vtkPatented kit is provided under an agreement with the 
patent holders.  This agreement states that anyone who uses this code 
must be explicitly aware that the code is patented.  This is why 
VTK_USE_PATENTED is off by default.  Users that want to use the code 
must explicitly turn on this option.  Therefore if they violate the 
patent it is their own fault.

If you distribute the code in binary form then it is possible that it 
may be used by someone who is not aware it is patented.  As far as I 
know the only way to distribute it this way is to obtain permission from 
the patent holders, which usually means paying a fee (perhaps per copy 


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