A ptypy software [6] is used.

The ptypy software is published under the GNU General Public Licence, version 2.12. However, there is a company (Phase Focus Ltd, UK) that holds a portfolio of patents related to ptychography. Phase Focus claims that, by using the ptypy software, a scientist may be using one of their patented inventions, for which the scientist would require a license. The company offers a free license for non-commercial, academic research.

Such situations are solved at the HPC centres and synchrotron facilities in two ways:

● by allowing the scientist to use the software only after they agreed to follow the Code of Conduct and the specific licence agreements from the software authors and vendors
● by providing an environment in which the scientist may upload the required software. In this way, the user takes full legal responsibility for the software they use.

Given the availability of a free license for academic use, we consider this procedure is only a minor inconvenience, particularly as the issue of whether patents apply to software is not completely resolved within the EU.

Fork of Ptycho-tomography

Fork of Ptycho-tomography