Under Common Law, something which is published in the Open Source Domain cannot be patented later. Common Law, being more fundamental than Legislative Law, takes precedence. Although obvious improvements and changes also can not be patented, patenting anything along the item's line of development would breach the integrity of the Open Source Trust. This also holds true for copyrighted works which are stated, or implicitly implied, as being released into the Public Domain. An Open Source work can not be copyrighted simply by making an obvious improvement and proclaiming it to be a new and original work, when fundamental Open Sourced elements are still present. Anyone who violates these fundamental principles and also thinks information should be paid for rather than given away is a traitor to the Open Source Community. The rest of us pay for our hosting service every month out of our own pockets, sharing for free.
