HANK@BARILVM.BITNET (Hank Nussbacher) (12/21/89)
>From: Denis.Russell%newcastle.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK >5) RSA is patented in the USA (except for the Government and > MIT?). > > Interestingly, this patent apparently only applies WITHIN > the USA, and use is free in the rest of the world. RSA Inc > still hopes to sell related computer programs outside the > USA, but it is not clear to me how this would avoid export > embargoes mentioned in the next point. > >6) There are problems with exporting certain encryption > "devices" from the USA. The situation is complex, but > apparently applies to kerberos either with or without DES > modules. Does this apply to software produced by RSA Inc, > and if not, why not? (Yes, maybe I should read Alice in > Wonderland with my daughter over Christmas!) > > Re-implementing the kerberos protocol may not be too > difficult for us foreigners - we are already knee-deep in > DES implementations :-) RSA stands for Rivest Shamir Adelman. Shamir was at MIT on sabbatical from Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. I would find it hard to believe that the USA could put export regulations on the 1/3 of RSA that was designed by a non-USA citizen. Hank Nussbacher Israel