PGP compatibility

Michael Fischer v. Mollard mfvm@gmx.de
24 Sep 1999 12:33:41 +0200


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