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From: tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt,comp.misc
Subject: Re: public key encryption and RSA patent status
Message-ID: <7335@ism780c.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 18-Sep-87 19:39:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: ism780c.7335
Posted: Fri Sep 18 19:39:08 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Sep-87 07:10:37 EDT
References: <1372@osiris.UUCP> <441@polyslo.UUCP> <686@sugar.UUCP> <1490@epimass.EPI.COM> <25@nl.cs.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith)
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Santa Monica CA
Lines: 40
Keywords: RSA patent pencil paper bgofus
Xref: mnetor sci.crypt:549 comp.misc:1244

In article <25@nl.cs.cmu.edu> mlm@nl.cs.cmu.edu (Michael Mauldin) writes:
< I agree with jbuck@epimass's assessment of the situation.  As I
< remember it, you can't patent something that can be done (in principle)
< by a person using pencil and paper.

You can patent anything that you can convince the patent office to
issue you a patent for.

The book "Software Law - A Primer" ( or something like that ) has
some examples of patents that have been granted that are similar
to RSA.

For example, there was some manufacturing process that involved the
use of feedback ( if I remember correctly ).  Someone came up with
the idea of using a specific function to control the feedback.
It was a fairly simple function, too.  One that shows up in other
things.  Something like y=exp(-x).

Their patent was not an attempt to patent the exponential function.
Their patent was an attempt to patent the use of an exponential
function as a key step in making a specific type of item.

The patent was granted.  This did not mean that other people could
not use exponential functions.  It just meant that other people
could not use them in the same way when making the same type of
product as the patent holder.

I suspect that the RSA patent would be similar.  Anyone can use
the functions that RSA uses for things other than a public key
cryptography system.  It would only be the specific use that
would be covered by the patent.

Disclaimer: What do I know?  I am just a person who read a book
that covered this.  Consult a real lawyer before taking anything
I say seriously!
-- 
Tim Smith, Knowledgian		{sdcrdcf,uunet}!ism780c!tim
				tim@ism780c.isc.com
"Oh I wish I were Matthew Wiener, That is who I truly want to be,
 'Cause if I were Matthew Wiener, Tim Maroney would send flames to me"