PGP compatibility

[Michael Fischer v. Mollard]

Matti Airas <mairas@iki.fi> writes:

> On 24 Sep 1999, Michael Fischer v. Mollard wrote:
> [about RSA:]
> > but remember, it should be a temporary solution, as one should generally
> > prefer non patented algorithms.
> 
> I remember having read that the US patent on RSA will expire next
> year. Does anyone have hard facts about that?

As hard as the rsa website :-), the FAQ reads
<quote>
Question 6.3.1.  
Is RSA patented?

RSA is patented  under U.S. Patent 4,405,829, issued  September 29, 1983
and held by  RSA Data Security, Inc.; the patent  expires 17 years after
issue, in the year 2000. RSA Data Security has a standard, royalty-based
licensing policy,  which can be modified for  special circumstances. The
U.S. government can use RSA without a license because it was invented at
MIT with partial government funding.

In the  U.S., a license is needed  to "make, use or  sell" RSA. However,
RSA Data  Security usually allows  free non-commercial use of  RSA, with
written permission, for academic or university research purposes.
</quote>

> Does anyone know the expiration date of the IDEA patents, then?

Quoting the Ascom Website:

<quote>
Patent Situation

Country		 Patent		  Application	Issue		    Expiration
			 Number		  Date			Date			Date
USA			 5' 214' 703  16 May 1991   25 May 1993	    25 May 2010
Europe       0482154      16 May 1991   30 June 1993    16 May 2011
Japan		 508119/1991  16 May 1991         Application pending
</quote>
-- 
        MfG
		  MFvM

Michael Fischer v. Mollard
mfvm@gmx.de