Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!lll-lcc!ptsfa!well!rab From: rab@well.UUCP (Bob Bickford) Newsgroups: sci.crypt Subject: Re: encryption with public keys (being patented) Message-ID: <2264@well.UUCP> Date: Sat, 27-Dec-86 06:35:25 EST Article-I.D.: well.2264 Posted: Sat Dec 27 06:35:25 1986 Date-Received: Sat, 27-Dec-86 20:37:51 EST References: <3072@ihuxf.UUCP> <9001@duke.duke.UUCP> <7447@utzoo.UUCP> <112@uw-apl.UUCP> Organization: Whole Earth Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA Lines: 19 Summary: patents worthless In article <112@uw-apl.UUCP>, srg@uw-apl.UUCP (Spencer Garrett) writes: > > The patent office will issue a patent on just about ANYTHING. They seem to > expect the courts to sort it all out. Recently an engineer I know managed to > get a patent for what he thought was a novel encoding technique. This merely > illustrates how out-of-touch both he and the patent office are. The rest of > us have been calling his novel approach FM0 for at least 15 years. Sounds familiar. On a related point, you should know that no patent law can prevent you, as an individual, from building and using one of ANYTHING for your own intellectual amusement and/or enjoyment. -- Robert Bickford {hplabs, ucbvax, lll-lcc, ptsfa, msudoc}!well!rab terrorist cryptography DES drugs cipher secret decode NSA CIA NRO IRS coke crack pot LSD russian missile atom nuclear assassinate libyan RSA The above is food for the NSA line eater. Add it to your .signature and you too can help overflow the NSA's ability to scan all traffic going in or out of the USA looking for "significant" words. (This is not a joke, sadly.)