[Insight-users] SIFT/feature based registration in ITK?

[Luis Ibanez]

As Bill and Michael have pointed out,

The "Experimental" exception for the exclusive rights of Patents
(in the US) applies only:

               "for amusement, to satisfy idle curiosity,
                 or strictly for philosophical inquiry."

See:

http://www.bakerbotts.com/infocenter/publications/detail.aspx?id=b7930f1d-b945-4f95-b825-fa9ac70c16af

and

http://books.google.com/books?id=-gLuY2rBU9oC&pg=RA2-PA9-IA466&lpg=RA2-PA9-IA466&dq=for+amusement,+to+satisfy+idle+curiosity&source=bl&ots=qQdZEW6lDu&sig=VyoBqK6AHJ4iEUKsRbyeXPJLjBg&hl=en&ei=idoJS4zHDpCZlAeYhaGhDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=for%20amusement%2C%20to%20satisfy%20idle%20curiosity&f=false


A part from that,
you are not allowed to:

   * Use
   * Make
   * Sell
   * Offer for sale
   * Import

any embodiment of an invention that is protected by a Patent,
without the permission of the Patent holder.


More on the Research Exemption for Patents at

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_exemption


Note also that Patents have only national jurisdiction.
That is, the patent in question here:

  "A method and apparatus for identifying scale invariant features in
   an image and a further method and apparatus for using such scale
   invariant features to locate an object in an image"

     http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT6711293

only apply to the United States.



Therefore, if you are outside of the US, you can make, use,
sell, and offer for sale any implementation of this US patented
method.

Beware however,
that is common for companies to patent the same invention
in multiple countries.  Therefore, you still have to check with
the patent database of your respective country.


For more on Patents and how they obstruct the progress of science
and technology you may want to read.

"Patent Failure"
"How Judges,Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk"
by James Bessen and Michael J. Meurer
Princeton University Press
http://www.researchoninnovation.org/dopatentswork/

and

"Math you can't use:"
"Patents, Copyright, and Software "
http://www.amazon.com/Math-You-Cant-Use-Copyright/dp/0815749422

and

"The Public Domain"
"Enclosing the Commons of the Mind"
by James Boyle
http://www.thepublicdomain.org/



BTW,
The US Supreme Court is currently reviewing the criteria that the
US Patent Office should use for granting patents.