The influence of US laws

[r2cosmin]

Hello,

I have a question regarding the law of patent over the internet. I live in Romania and I understand the "US only" rule for advices on this site. I seek an advice from an US laws perspective.
I am currently working on an open source object framework for php. I am developing original code but also using ideas from other languages like java and c#. Some of these ideas are under us patents. The ideas are not under Romanian patents. Romania will be an EU member state in 2007 and the EU seams like will not approve of software patents.
So the patent problem is not from a local perspective, but from the US patents perspective. As I mentioned earlier, I am not an US citizen and the software is not developed in US. The software will be distributed from a Romanian server but from there on, anyone could get a copy of it.
Under these conditions, could I get any legal problems from the US?

 

[divgradcurl]

The software will be distributed from a Romanian server but from there on, anyone could get a copy of it.
Under these conditions, could I get any legal problems from the US?

You personally? Probably not. U.S. Patents can only be enforced in the U.S., and against products entering into the U.S.

Of course, many larger companies will obtain patents in many, many different countries, so you should make sure that these companies haven't patented their inventions in Romania as well.

However, as soon as your software crosses into the U.S., it is infringing, and anyone in the U.S. who uses the software will be infringing as well. Since people in the U.S. will be liable for patent infringement, it may be tough to get people to use it here!

Romania will be an EU member state in 2007 and the EU seams like will not approve of software patents.

I don't think a decision one way or the other for the EU is set in stone yet, so I wouldn't count my chickens yet...

EDIT: I mean with respect to software patents, not to Romania...

 

[r2cosmin]

Confirmation...

Please excuse my need for confirmation. I asked this question because of the "no borders" character of the internet. You mean that under those conditions, I, as a software developer, will not have any problems but someone in the US, as a user, may have problems? This would imply a check from the possible end user for possible us patented technologies. It is very hard to find out if a particular piece of code breaks any patents laws. It is hard for me, as a developer to do this, a user might not even know about it and I do not have an obligation to tell them that it is patented in the US.
This separation may apply, with some effort from the user, to open-source software. What about closed-source? The US citizen would have no idea on what patented technologies that are hidden in the source code.

 

[divgradcurl]

You mean that under those conditions, I, as a software developer, will not have any problems but someone in the US, as a user, may have problems?

If the patent owner does not have a patent in your home country, then the patent owner has nothing that they can enforce against you. U.S. Patents are only enforceable in the U.S. -- no matter how international the internet is.

Now, if you were to travel to the U.S., you would be subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and then maybe you could be sued for patent infringement.

Someone who uses an infringing product in the U.S. is an infringer as well -- however, it is quite unlikely that an end user would actually be sued, but it certainly could happen.

If you are going to sell software in the U.S., or make it available to U.S. users, your best bet is to make sure it doesn't infringe on anyone's patents.