[An early lesson in the advantages of Open Source}

I was sad to hear that Paul Fillinich, an intellectual property lawyer for AT&T, passed away in 2020. I doubt many people are aware of his contribution to the success of C++.

Back in 1987 or so, C++ and Objective-C were neck-and-neck in the race to create a better C. I was interested in gaining a competitive edge for my C compiler (Zortech), and wondered which horse to get on. Stepstone owned Objective-C, and had some onerous licensing terms for it. But C++? I made some phone calls, and finally discovered that Paul Fillinich was in charge of IP at AT&T. I contacted him and asked:

1. can I get a license to create a C++ compiler?

2. can I call it C++?

Paul laughed. He said nobody had ever asked him a question like this in advance, they usually just went ahead and did things hoping nobody would notice. (Of course, being AT&T's IP lawyer, he did notice.)

Paul said sure, go ahead. You don't need a license from AT&T, and AT&T didn't trademark C++.

I owe him a large debt of gratitude, and so does the C++ community. Paul was one of the good guys.

This enabled a thriving ecosystem for C++, and we all know what happened to Objective-C.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36374340

On Saturday, 17 June 2023 at 20:43:39 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
> [An early lesson in the advantages of Open Source}
> [...]
> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36374340

I like so much those kinds of little stories from the 1980's or 90's.

On Saturday, 17 June 2023 at 20:54:51 UTC, user456 wrote:
> On Saturday, 17 June 2023 at 20:43:39 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
>> [An early lesson in the advantages of Open Source}
>> [...]
>> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36374340
>
> I like so much those kinds of little stories from the 1980's or 90's.

Indeed. He sounds like one of the right-minded folk, not one to place unnecessary obstacles in the way of others.

On Saturday, 17 June 2023 at 20:43:39 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
> [An early lesson in the advantages of Open Source}

Does not parse.
Missing closing "[" brace.
Too many closing "}" braces.

:-D

On 6/17/23 16:43, Walter Bright wrote:
> [An early lesson in the advantages of Open Source}
> 
> I was sad to hear that Paul Fillinich, an intellectual property lawyer for AT&T, passed away in 2020. I doubt many people are aware of his contribution to the success of C++.
> 
> Back in 1987 or so, C++ and Objective-C were neck-and-neck in the race to create a better C. I was interested in gaining a competitive edge for my C compiler (Zortech), and wondered which horse to get on. Stepstone owned Objective-C, and had some onerous licensing terms for it. But C++? I made some phone calls, and finally discovered that Paul Fillinich was in charge of IP at AT&T. I contacted him and asked:
> 
> 1. can I get a license to create a C++ compiler?
> 
> 2. can I call it C++?
> 
> Paul laughed. He said nobody had ever asked him a question like this in advance, they usually just went ahead and did things hoping nobody would notice. (Of course, being AT&T's IP lawyer, he did notice.)
> 
> Paul said sure, go ahead. You don't need a license from AT&T, and AT&T didn't trademark C++.
> 
> I owe him a large debt of gratitude, and so does the C++ community. Paul was one of the good guys.
> 
> This enabled a thriving ecosystem for C++, and we all know what happened to Objective-C.
> 
> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36374340

Nice story! You really should write a book someday...!!! :-)
(Will be a different experience)