Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!hplabs!hao!gaia!zhahai From: zhahai@gaia.UUCP (Zhahai Stewart) Newsgroups: sci.crypt Subject: Re: encryption with public keys Message-ID: <230@gaia.UUCP> Date: Wed, 24-Dec-86 03:26:18 EST Article-I.D.: gaia.230 Posted: Wed Dec 24 03:26:18 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 24-Dec-86 20:53:55 EST References: <3072@ihuxf.UUCP> <9001@duke.duke.UUCP> <7447@utzoo.UUCP> Reply-To: zhahai@gaia.UUCP (Zhahai Stewart) Organization: Gaia Corp, Boulder, CO Lines: 28 In article <7447@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes: >> ... surely somebody has written a public domain RSA system. >> .... If nobody posts anything in the next week, I'll >> come up with something. > >Be careful: RSA is patented, and publication of such a system would surely >be a patent infringement (i.e. check with your lawyer first). >-- > Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology Henry, do you have any idea just what is patented? (I don't have a patent lawyer on retainer just now and it's such a bother to hire one during the holidays :-). I wonder if a system to do fast modulo exponentiation would be verboten? Sadly, patents are getting pretty ridiculous these days; algorithms are not supposed to be patentable, so what is RSA encryption but an algorithm? The patent office seems to allow a number of dodges now - put an algorithms into a ROM in a box that does something and you can patent it. Of course, the patent may or may not hold up in court, but it takes a lot of money to challenge it. Meanwhile, the threat is supposed to keep PD stuff from coming out. So it goes. Anyway, if you have any suggestions as to what is or is not claimed as patented by RSA Data Security Inc, it might help in defining whether some PD code in this area is worth looking into or not. I am not asking you for a legal opinion. . ~z~ -- Zhahai Stewart {hao | nbires}!gaia!zhahai