GnuPG 1.0.4-1 + IDEA for Windows

[Johan Wevers]

ESP wrote to Keith Ray:

> Why waste everybody's time and be a humongous dickhead? You know now
> why IDEA was not included in GnuPG, you're doing something that is
> going to draw lightning to yourself and GnuPG eventually, and there's
> no good reason for it.

I just read the patent issue in the GPL. I'm not sure how this is supposed
to work, it doesn't say anything about where the patent need to be
acknowledged for example.

I'm asking because software patents are (fortunately) not given in the EC,
recently they turned down a proposal from the patent lobby to do so.

If, say, some obscure dictator in some banana republic claims that all
public-key crypto is patented to him in that country, would that formally
exclude any public-key crypto from being distributed under the GPL?

BTW, the same situation exists with the gif format: the claimed patent does
not hold in many countries, like mine. I'm not sure about the IDEA patent,
but I don't feel like obeying the stupid laws of other countries when I'm
not there.

> Do you have a point you're trying to prove? Like, "Screw you for
> making this nice program for me."?

I don't think so, I think Keith can do something and get away with it that
could cause Werner, in his position, serious problems. If Werner can proove
to any patent-claimers that he isn't involved with Keith's version his ass
is covered.

-- 
ir. J.C.A. Wevers         //  Physics and science fiction site:
johanw@vulcan.xs4all.nl   //  http://www.xs4all.nl/~johanw/index.html
PGP/GPG public keys at http://www.xs4all.nl/~johanw/pgpkeys.html

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