Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!sun-barr!decwrl!sgi!bron@bronze.wpd.sgi.com
From: bron@bronze.wpd.sgi.com (Bron Campbell Nelson)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Lempel-Ziv Implemenation
Summary: patented algorithm??
Message-ID: <45686@sgi.sgi.com>
Date: 4 Dec 89 20:16:43 GMT
References: <10690@venera.isi.edu> <1989Nov30.144334.7215@alzabo.uucp> <56000@looking.on.ca>
Sender: bron@bronze.wpd.sgi.com
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Lines: 18

In article <56000@looking.on.ca>, brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton) writes:
> There is no such thing as a public domain Lempel Ziv Welch.  The algorithm
> is patented by Unisys.
> 

Ummm ... it has always been my understanding that an *algorithm* is not
patentable.  It qualifies essentially as a "law of nature."  What *is*
patentable is the application of the algorithm to a particular job, or
a particular implementation of the algorithm.  Thus, I'm quite willing
to believe that Unisys holds some sort of patent on using Lempel-Ziv
*in a disk controller*, but not a patent on the algorithm itself.

Could some lawyer type clarify this?

--
Bron Campbell Nelson
bron@sgi.com  or possibly  ..!ames!sgi!bron
These statements are my own, not those of Silicon Graphics.


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