IDEA (was: Re: Decryption problem)

[Roger Burton West]

On Wed, Sep 15, 1999 at 04:51:59PM -0400, John Watson wrote:
>I don't think that algorithms are patentable under US Patent law either.  However, the
>US Patent office is broken, and has been broken for some years.  The US Patent office
>has been regularly giving out patents on unpatentable items such as algorithms
>and 'Save As' dialogs. :)

Yes; the office has, I believe, explicitly stated that its policy is
to grant patents in dubious cases, and wait for them to be
challenged in court.

-- 
Roger Burton West -/- roger@firedrake.org
http://www.firedrake.org/roger/ -/- ICQ UIN 48964316, occasionally
The Tygers of Wrath are Wiser than the Horses of Instruction.