Re: New feature

[Nicolas JEAN <abo njean me>]

Le 19/02/2013 13:56, Emmanuel Tanguy a écrit :
> I don't know the legality about replicating a feature from an existing
> software but I suppose that you will know better (I never participated
> in developing open source software).

As far as Europe is concerned, copying features is perfectly legal.
Protecting a feature, that is, an idea or concept, can only be achieved
by a patent system. Fortunately, software patents have not made their
way yet in Europe, as they have in the US (see absurd patents such as
Apple's "slide to unlock").
For more info on software patents, read e.g.
    http://fsfe.org/campaigns/swpat/swpat.html

I am no lawyer, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Cheers,
Nico