From owner-freebsd-chat  Thu Aug 28 07:09:14 1997
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-chat>
Received: (from root@localhost)
          by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) id HAA29433
          for chat-outgoing; Thu, 28 Aug 1997 07:09:14 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from fallout.campusview.indiana.edu (fallout.campusview.indiana.edu [149.159.1.1])
          by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id HAA29374
          for <chat@FreeBSD.ORG>; Thu, 28 Aug 1997 07:07:54 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from localhost (jfieber@localhost)
	by fallout.campusview.indiana.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id JAA09159;
	Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:06:46 -0500 (EST)
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:06:45 -0500 (EST)
From: John Fieber <jfieber@indiana.edu>
To: Narvi <narvi@haldjas.folklore.ee>
cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: Scary lawsuit
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.970828122511.25971K-100000@haldjas.folklore.ee>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.970828084755.341y-100000@fallout.campusview.indiana.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Sender: owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG
X-Loop: FreeBSD.org
Precedence: bulk

On Thu, 28 Aug 1997, Narvi wrote:

> Well, the FreeBSD rdist manpage says it originated in 4.3BSD and the date
> at the end of the man page reads may 1994. Rcp (I don't know if it
> qualifies) is at least of 4.2BSD.

Rcp doesn't express anything that would be in vilotation of the
patent.  The patent (going from the abstract) covers the idea of
comparing a list of what a client machine should have with what
it does have and updating only the things that differ between the
two.  Rdist is probably safe datewise since 4.3BSD dates to 1986
(McKusick et. al. 1996, p6) and includes some of the concepts in
the patent, but not necessairly all. 

Sup seems to be a closer match.  The earliest document I've found
describing it is dated September 7, 1989.

-john