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From: smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin)
Newsgroups: net.crypt
Subject: Re: RSA cryptographic algorithm patented?
Message-ID: <1098@ulysses.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Sep-85 20:02:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: ulysses.1098
Posted: Fri Sep 13 20:02:21 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 14-Sep-85 04:57:26 EDT
References: <358@cubsvax.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 12

> One point that seems quite important to me in this discussion hasn't
> been touched on (at least I haven't seen it). That is, how can you patent
> something that's already been published and generally distributed?
> 
> It seems to me that the RSA article preceded by some years the patenting.
> I have a copy of an MIT Laboratory for Computer Science paper by RSA dated
> April 1977 (does this make me a criminal?). I'm not sure when they obtained
> the patent, but my impression is that it was pretty recent.

I already checked with a patent attorney on this one...  The key restriction
is that the patent must be applied for within one year *after* any publication.
R, S, and A did indeed meet this requirement.