Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!hsdndev!cmcl2!kramden.acf.nyu.edu!brnstnd
From: brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein)
Newsgroups: comp.compression
Subject: Re: LZW is *not* safe to use
Message-ID: <10134:Apr318:51:3091@kramden.acf.nyu.edu>
Date: 3 Apr 91 18:51:30 GMT
References: <1991Apr2.003452.27382@alembic.acs.com> <29014:Apr215:25:5191@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <1991Apr3.041358.6194@evax.arl.utexas.edu>
Organization: IR
Lines: 15

In article <1991Apr3.041358.6194@evax.arl.utexas.edu> cs4304ak@evax.arl.utexas.edu (David Richardson) writes:
> Well, if IBM (or anyone else) who claims rights to LZW doesn't take
> positive action to enforce thier rights, the defendants in any future
> suit will have a good chance at proving that IBM (or whomever) abandoned
> thier patent.

No. Copyrighted documents and trademarks may fall into the public
domain, but a patent is about as strong after 16 years of neglect as
when it was new. (It is *stronger* after it has been applied
commercially.) If you want citations for this, send me e-mail.

Furthermore, the IBM Miller-Wegman patent was only issued two years ago.
Two years is a short time in the patent business.

---Dan