re public domain circuits in commercial applications in article c ge lif athena cs uga edu mcovingt aisun ai uga edu michael covington writes patent law says you can build anything you want to for your own personal noncommercial use i m not up on the details of us patent law but i think this is incorrect there is a reasonable use exemption for copyright there is none for patents the exemptions from patent licensing are quite narrow r d work is exempt but personal use is not that is it s okay to experiment with a patented idea but not to put it to practical use e g to improve your stereo even if it s only your own private practical use of course it is unlikely that discreet personal use will ever be detected or that you will ever be sued over it all work is one man s work henry spencer u of toronto zoology kipling henry zoo toronto edu utzoo henry
