As Bill and Michael have pointed out,
The "Experimental" exception for the exclusive rights of Patents
(in the US) applies only:
"for amusement, to satisfy idle curiosity,
or strictly for philosophical inquiry."
See:
http://www.bakerbotts.com/infocenter/publications/detail.aspx?id=b7930f1d-b945-4f95-b825-fa9ac70c16af
and
http://books.google.com/books?id=-gLuY2rBU9oC&pg=RA2-PA9-IA466&lpg=RA2-PA9-IA466&dq=for+amusement,+to+satisfy+idle+curiosity&source=bl&ots=qQdZEW6lDu&sig=VyoBqK6AHJ4iEUKsRbyeXPJLjBg&hl=en&ei=idoJS4zHDpCZlAeYhaGhDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=for%20amusement%2C%20to%20satisfy%20idle%20curiosity&f=false
A part from that,
you are not allowed to:
* Use
* Make
* Sell
* Offer for sale
* Import
any embodiment of an invention that is protected by a Patent,
without the permission of the Patent holder.
More on the Research Exemption for Patents at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_exemption
Note also that Patents have only national jurisdiction.
That is, the patent in question here:
"A method and apparatus for identifying scale invariant features in
an image and a further method and apparatus for using such scale
invariant features to locate an object in an image"
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT6711293
only apply to the United States.
Therefore, if you are outside of the US, you can make, use,
sell, and offer for sale any implementation of this US patented
method.
Beware however,
that is common for companies to patent the same invention
in multiple countries. Therefore, you still have to check with
the patent database of your respective country.
For more on Patents and how they obstruct the progress of science
and technology you may want to read.
"Patent Failure"
"How Judges,Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk"
by James Bessen and Michael J. Meurer
Princeton University Press
http://www.researchoninnovation.org/dopatentswork/
and
"Math you can't use:"
"Patents, Copyright, and Software "
http://www.amazon.com/Math-You-Cant-Use-Copyright/dp/0815749422
and
"The Public Domain"
"Enclosing the Commons of the Mind"
by James Boyle
http://www.thepublicdomain.org/
BTW,
The US Supreme Court is currently reviewing the criteria that the
US Patent Office should use for granting patents.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574537481229336114.html
<quote>
The most telling moment in the Bilski argument was when Justice Breyer
asked how the balance should be struck between granting patents for
methods that applied to machines as opposed to methods that apply to
how information is used. "I don't know," he answered. "And I don't
know whether across the board or in this area or that area patent
protection would do no harm or more harm than good."
Likewise, Justice Sotomayor said she couldn't predict the result if
the court tried to clarify what can be patented and what can't. "I
have no idea what the limits of that ruling will impose in the
computer world, in the biomedical world."
Such humility is rare at the Supreme Court, but as the justices come
to a decision in this case, they should remember above all that legal
uncertainty about intellectual property has real costs. For now, the
most innovative parts of our economy bear the burden of uncertainty,
with no one knowing for sure who owns what rights to which ideas,
inventions or discoveries.
</quote>
It is not surprising that Patent Systems were abolished in several
countries in the past: for example in The Netherlands in 1869.
By the time of the American Revolution; England was the only country
where a Patent system was in place. It was common knowledge that
the creation of Monopolies was detrimental for the Economy, particularly
for a market economy.
In August 1813, Thomas Jefferson wrote:
"I am informed, that England was, until we copied her, the only
country on earth which ever, by a general law, gave a legal right to
the exclusive use of an idea. In some other countries it is sometimes
done, in a great case, and by a special and personal act, but,
generally speaking, other nations have thought that these monopolies
produce more embarrassment than advantage to society; and it may be
observed that the nations which refuse monopolies of invention, are as
fruitful as England in new and useful devices."
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_8_8s12.html
Regards,
Luis
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post by Michael MaiSee http://www.cmake.org/Wiki/ITK_Patent_Bazaar for answer.
Summarized: Unfortunately no, even non-commercial research have to obey patents.
Michael
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Gesendet: Freitag, 20. November 2009 00:44
Betreff: Re: [Insight-users] SIFT/feature based registration in ITK?
Are you not allowed to use patented methods for non-commercial research !?!
Rupin
On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:45:22 -0800, Torsten Rohlfing
Post by Torsten RohlfingAnother reason for lack of motivation to implement SIFT in ITK might
also be that SIFT is patented.
Post by David DoriaSomeone mentioned off list that they are slowly working on writing
SIFT for ITK - has there really been no past effort like this? Is the
idea that ITK deals mainly with medical images and intensity based
registration is typically fine for those?
Thanks,
David
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