Jens Groh wrote:

> By the way - what is the 'official' policy concerning patents that cover
> some part of the Csound code (like in this case)? I assume that just
> _programming_ a patented algorithm is legal, right?

As far as I know (and in no way should I be considered the authoritative
source), you only run into problems with patents if you try to create a
commercial product from them. Using patented technology for your personal use is
OK - just don't try and sell a product that incorporates the technology. I could
see running into problems if you were distributing free software that directly
competed with commercial software, and incorporated patented elements of the
commercial software. However, Csound doesn't really compete with any commercial
software; it is part of a grand tradition of Music N-type languages, most of
which were capable of patent infringement (FM, physical modelling, etc.). As far
as music that uses the patented technology, I doubt that this would be a problem
- although we will see what the future holds.

Csound already has lots of ugens that probably incorporate patented technology.
Perry Cook's physical modelling code is based on the CCRMA stuff, a great deal
of which is patented. Since his code is freely distributed, it should be no big
deal. 

To be on the safe side, I would be sure and acknowledge the original source of
your ideas if they are patented. For nlalp, you could acknowledge the John
Pierce / Scott Van Duyne paper in your manual page for the ugen, and perhaps
list the patent number in the source code.