Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!ima!bbn!humming!simcha
From: simcha@humming.UUCP (Simcha Lerner)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: Phil Katz (PKARC author) sued b
Message-ID: <229@humming.UUCP>
Date: 30 Jun 88 17:42:12 GMT
References: <151@kadsma.kadsm> <2000002@cpe> <974@flatline.UUCP>
Reply-To: simcha@humming.UUCP (Simcha Lerner)
Organization: Kurzweil A.I. Waltham, Mass.
Lines: 16

>
>An algorithm *shouldn't* be patentable.  ie: if I figured out the
>quadratic equation today (and no one else ever had before) I shouldn't
>be able to patent it.  If I wrote a program that used the quadratic
>equation I'd just discovered, I could copyright the program but
>not the quadratic equation.
>
>             ..!bellcore!tness1!/

This is not the case.  For example, the RSA algorithm for public
key encryption is patented, and RS&A make a nice sum of money
in royalties.

Simcha Lerner

...(harvard | talcott)!humming!simcha