Python legalities

[Helen Dawson]

The legal department at my company is a bit nervous about shipping
software that conains free software. They are concerned about the
risks of using software that may inadvertently contain fragments
of patented or copyrighted code, without anyone who can indemnify
us against this risk.

If we license software from a third party, then part of what we
are paying them for is for them to promise that there aren't any
copyright or patent issues, and for them to take the legal heat if
there are any issues.

With free software in general, and Python in particular, there is
nobody to indemnify us.

So, I've been trying to do research to find out if there have been
any legal issues in Python's past. I know that lots of people have
used it in a range of products, so my theory is that if nobody has
sued them, then I won't get sued. I haven't found any signs of
legal issues - can anyone confirm or deny that?

Bruce Dawson
comments at cygnus-software.com