metzger@watson.ibm.com (Perry E. Metzger) (05/21/91)
Warning: I'm not a lawyer; I may not know what I'm talking about. In article <1991May19.184905.3760@hellgate.utah.edu> hollaar%basset.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Lee Hollaar) writes: >>But WHO is the infringer by *using* ??? > >From Title 35 of the United States Code, Section 271: >"(a)... WHOEVER without authority makes, USES or sells any patented invention, >within the United States during the term of the patent therefor, infringes >the patent." [emphasis added] > >>If I implement a program using the method, publish it stating that it is >>just an example as part of an explanation of how the patent really works, >>then someone USES that implementation, then WHO has infringed? > >At least the person who uses the implementation has infringed. As I recall, the RSA patent specifically covered a device that executed the RSA algorithm. RSA was patented before software patents became all the rage. Therefore, it may be that distributing the source code for an RSA implementation, without providing an executable or an executable for the program to run on, might very well not be covered by the patent. Then, using the program would violate the patent, but distributing the source would not. It would be useful to get an actual lawyer to comment on this. Perry Metzger