[ODE] Quickstep and patents

[metanet software]

hi,
I'm working on a physics solver, and have recently discovered that several well-known techniques are in fact patented. I'm eager to opensource my project, however doing so will make it obvious what methods i'm using, and one of them is definitely patented. 

>From discussion on the Bullet forums, it appears that Ageia holds a patent related to ODE's quickstep solver: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7079145-claims.html

Has there been any trouble with these patents and ODE? I'm thinking specifically about the various big-budget commercial games released with ODE.. did Ageia extract any sort of licensing/blackmail fees from the developers?

I'm just trying to get a sense of whether Ageia actually enforces these ridiculous patents or they're just there to make them look good in stockholders' eyes. 

thanks,
raigan



       
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