It might be worthwhile mentioning the issue of software patents. I have spoken to Ross Williams, author of the Blocklets Algorithm (http://blocklets.com) and CEO of Rocksoft (http://rocksoft.com) and he does not believe that rsync infringes. I have suggested to Rocksoft and now to rsync.samba.org that some statement relating to software patents (and perhaps functionality) might be in order to avoid confusion. I am not suggesting that the rsync team make any statements of warranty concerning possible infringment, but a summary of the issues and why there probably isn't a problem might be helpful. I have made a similar suggestion to the principle maintainer of Unison, see http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/
I believe that programmers should not delve into patent issues in order to avoid becoming tainted. As long as no one is accusing rsync of infringing its patent(s) then I see no reason to even mention the subject.