Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 22:14:56 +0100 From: Roelof Osinga <roelof@nisser.com> To: "Jeroen C. van Gelderen" <jeroen@vangelderen.org> Cc: Kris Kennaway <kris@obsecurity.org>, freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Reminder notice about FreeBSD Security Advisories Message-ID: <3A85AF50.1DF04F6F@nisser.com> References: <20010209214354.2FBD637B4EC@hub.freebsd.org> <Pine.BSF.4.33.0102092253530.63359-100000@deneb.dbai.tuwien.ac.at> <20010209140614.A67010@mollari.cthul.hu> <3A853F1C.DED59C4B@nisser.com> <20010210053726.A45756@mollari.cthul.hu> <3A854C41.7BA1B2A1@nisser.com> <3A85799E.C6A3745B@vangelderen.org>
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"Jeroen C. van Gelderen" wrote: > > The above is not correct. The IDEA algorithm is patented in > Europe as #0482154. Noncommercial use is free, commercial > use requires a paid license. This has been the case ever > since PGP 2.x.x was released and will be the case until the > year 2011. Fortunately there is no reason whatsoever to use > IDEA these days, except for legacy purposes. > > http://www.media-crypt.com/pages/fidea.html Yeah, but then again: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,40329,00.html supports my 'idea' about the IDEA matter. To quote from the wired article: "European law specifically forbids patents on computer software, but the European Patent Office is strongly in favor of changing that." The question now becomes do we believe a vendor with a vested interest in claiming its patented (or is it patent penging?) or an independent source with no stake in the matter? Then again it wouldn't the first patent that slips through the cracks. If it did it would be a patent, but not one which would survive court action. But maybe that patent covers the IDEA hardware and not the algorithm per se. In which case the text on that page is both correct and craftily formulated. Though it talks about the European patent situation it stresses the copyright aspect. So by mixing those two issues - patents and copyrights - the impression is surely given it deals with the former. But does it indeed? IANAL Roelof PS the EC recently decided against the proposal as proposed by Frits Bolkensteyn I believe. -- Home is where the (@) http://eboa.com/ is. Nisser home -- http://www.Nisser.com/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-security" in the body of the message
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