[ODE] Quickstep and patents

[metanet software]

hi,
ODE may have existed, but did the quickstep solver?

Anyway, prior art is moot regardless since the patents exist. In my case there's also lots of prior art, but prior art is only going to help if I can afford to go to court, which I can't.

I was more trying to get a feel for how Ageia are conducting themselves with these patents -- since there have been many high-profile users (STALKER, Call of Juarez, Bloodrayne 2) I wanted to know if they'd been forced to pay any sort of licensing/blackmail behind the scenes for using ODE, since they're clearly using the quickstep solver. If they were left alone, I'll feel better as chances are we will be too.

raigan



Giel van Schijndel <me at mortis.eu> wrote: erwin at erwincoumans.com schreef:
> Beau Albiston writes:
>> metanet software wrote:
>>     
>>> 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.
>>>       
>> I believe they are referring to LCP solvers in the context of being 
>> implemented on dedicated hardware.
>>     
> This patent covers ODE quickstep. Quickstep implements a variant of 
> Gauss-Seidel (SOR). 
>
> This is not about hardware, it is about software.
> Just cross your fingers and hope on some prior art, or that Ageia doesn't 
> pursue this.
>   
Didn't ODE exist before this date? Application: No. 10793899 filed on
2004-03-08
If so then ODE _is_ prior art to this patent. As usual the US patent
office does hardly any checking for prior art (sigh).

-- 
Giel

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