[Insight-developers] VXL : Toms library : ACM Copyright : non-commercial license

[Luis Ibanez]

Bill,

Thanks for catching that.

Yet another example of what is wrong
with:   www.netlib.org

A lot of code posted,
with not information about copyright or licensing.

            let's burn it !!!
            let's burn it !!!
            let's burn it !!!


In the meantime, it looks like we have
to cut more cancerous tissue from

                netlib/linalg

Sadly enough, this is a linear solver...

The fact that we are still carrying around
FORTRAN code from the 80's is an obvious
symptom of technological decadence.

---

BTW:

ACM don't even get copyright laws straight:

http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/projects/toms/AlgPolicy.html
-------------------------------
"Copyright Agreement

Authors of copyrightable algorithms (or their employers) are required
to transfer the copyright to ACM upon acceptance of the algorithm for
publication, in accordance with ACM policy to own copyright on ACM
published material. The Association grants authors the right to reuse
their material, and also grants liberal permission for the reuse of
the associated software for noncommercial purposes. See the ACM
Software Copyright and License Agreement and the ACM Copyright
Policies for further details. "
-------


They should know by now that Algorithms are NOT
copyrightable, nor patentable for that matter.


                 What a great Dinosaur...

How have we allowed the two largest technical societies
to become the most obtuse and retrograde organizations.

It's time to get rid of obsolete institutions that have become
a burden to society and an obstruction to the progress of
science  and technology.


They must be replaced with Open Access publishing
systems compatible with the Information Age.


---

More examples of confused thinking:


http://calgo.acm.org/
   "Use of ACM Algorithms is subject to the ACM
    Software Copyright and License Agreement"


        It's wrong:
        Algorithms are NOT copyrightable !!

        Software is copyrightable,
        and only the non-functional aspects of
        software are copyrightable.



Algorithms are MATH !!
they are not the subject of property.

---

US Supreme Court in 1981:

“...We defined "algorithm" as a "procedure for solving a given type of
mathematical problem," and we concluded that such an algorithm, or
mathematical formula, is like a law of nature, which cannot be the
subject of a patent.”

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=450&invol=175




     Luis


----------------------------------------------------------
On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 11:26 PM, Bill Lorensen <bill.lorensen at gmail.com> wrote:
> Looks like there is an issue with:
> lsqr
>
> There is mention in vnl_matrix.txx of an algorithm (not code) from  TOMS.
>
>
> I just greped the vxl source tree for "TOMS":
> ./core/vnl/algo/vnl_lsqr.h:// of Paige and Saunders (ACM TOMS 583).
> The sparse system is encapsulated
> ./core/vnl/algo/vnl_lsqr.h://  of Paige and Saunders (ACM TOMS 583).
> The sparse system is encapsulated
> ./core/vnl/algo/vnl_rpoly_roots.h://  (See M.A. Jenkins, ACM TOMS 1
> (1975) pp. 178-189.).
> ./core/vnl/vnl_matrix.txx://  Works for rectangular matrices using an
> enormously clever algorithm from ACM TOMS.
> ./v3p/netlib/linalg/lsqr.c:/*     22 Feb 1982: LSQR sent to ACM TOMS
> to become Algorithm 583. */
> ./v3p/netlib/linalg/lsqr.f:*     22 Feb 1982: LSQR sent to ACM TOMS to
> become Algorithm 583.
> ./v3p/netlib/toms/rpoly.c:/* Fullsource for module 493 from package
> TOMS.                           */
> ./v3p/netlib/v3p_netlib_prototypes.h:#include "toms/rpoly.h"
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 5:34 PM, Brad King <brad.king at kitware.com> wrote:
>> Luis Ibanez wrote:
>>> Note that the code is actually brought into ITK via
>>> VXL. So, ultimatetly, the VXL developers should
>>> consider removing this code from VXL, since it is
>>> not compatible with the VXL license either.
>>
>> ...and it was brought into VXL from TargetJr:
>>
>> http://vxl.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vxl/trunk/v3p/netlib/rpoly.c?revision=2&view=markup&pathrev=2
>>
>> ======================================================================
>> Fri Dec 20 17:32:23 1996 UTC (13 years, 1 month ago) by targetjr
>> File size: 27973 byte(s)
>>
>> Import of the spring-cleaned version of TargetJr, fist trial.
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> /* rpoly.f -- translated by f2c (version of 23 April 1993  18:34:30).
>> ...
>> /* Retrieved from NETLIB on Wed Jul  3 11:47:53 1996. */
>> ======================================================================
>>
>> -Brad
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>