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From: barmar@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: net.ham-radio,net.unix
Subject: Re: S.2575 comments
Message-ID: <3111@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU>
Date: Thu, 4-Sep-86 00:58:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.3111
Posted: Thu Sep  4 00:58:20 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Sep-86 20:12:28 EDT
References: <2656@rsch.wisc.edu>
Reply-To: barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin)
Organization: MIT, EE/CS Computer Facilities, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 21
Keywords: naive
Xref: mnetor net.ham-radio:2207 net.unix:5365

In article <2656@rsch.wisc.edu> dan@caseus.WISC.EDU (Daniel M. Frank) writes:
>   By the way, there is some fascinating language forbidding interception
>of signals "transmitted using modulation techniques whose essential
>parameters have been withheld from the public with the intention of
>preserving the privacy of such communication".  Hmmm.  To my knowledge,
>the owners of patents on such techniques (clearly they mean video
>scrambling here) have, by filing such patents, made such modulation
>techniques accessible to the public; they have not "withheld" them.

The quote you provided doesn't say anything about the techniques, it
says parameters.  Thus, if a signal has been encrypted, the "essential
parameters" refers to the decryption key, which is normally withheld
from the public, even though the encryption device has been patented.

On the other hand, maybe they aren't talking about patented scrambling
techniques, but are saying that broadcasters must use proprietary
scrambling devices in order to be protected.
-- 
    Barry Margolin
    ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics
    UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar