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From: gilgalad@dip.eecs.umich.edu (Ralph Seguin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech,comp.sys.amiga.hardware,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Patenting ideas
Message-ID: <2635@zipeecs.umich.edu>
Date: 14 Jun 90 03:29:41 GMT
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Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept, Ann Arbor, MI
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I have been watching the discussion about Tetris, copyrighting and patenting.
While it is true that you cannot patent an idea, I have just encountered
what appears to be the exception to the rule.  I was going to write an RSA
cyphering program for the Amiga (PD probably), but I received some messages
from several people saying that the RSA is patented by a company called RSA
Inc.  Apparently the licensing fee is $600,000 (no typo here 8-(.
I have bee thinking to myself that this is nonsense since RSA is a mathematical
concept (and a beautiful one at that 8-).  You can't patent mathematical
concepts (I get first grabs on addition 8-)
I am not certain whether or not it is true that RSA Inc. actually has a 
patent on the RSA algorithm.  If it is true, it seems painfully apparent
that the patenting process has some major problems with it (ie, with some
trickery, you could probably patent breathing 8-)

			See ya, Ralph

 
gilgalad@dip.eecs.umich.edu       gilgalad@zip.eecs.umich.edu
gilgalad@caen.engin.umich.edu     Ralph_Seguin@ub.cc.umich.edu
gilgalad@sparky.eecs.umich.edu    USER6TUN@UMICHUB.BITNET

Ralph Seguin               |  In order to get infinitely many monkeys to type
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