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Xref: sserve comp.org.eff.talk:9179 comp.unix.bsd:5775 comp.os.mach:2219 misc.int-property:541 comp.sys.mac.advocacy:686 Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!sgiblab!darwin.sura.net!haven.umd.edu!uunet!think.com!ames!agate!ucbvax!virtualnews.nyu.edu!brnstnd From: brnstnd@nyu.edu (D. J. Bernstein) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk,comp.unix.bsd,comp.os.mach,misc.int-property,alt.suit.att-bsdi,comp.sys.mac.advocacy Subject: Re: Letter asking for help with Apple from the US VP Message-ID: <29581.Sep2900.20.3792@virtualnews.nyu.edu> Date: 29 Sep 92 00:20:37 GMT References: <BZS.92Sep21192823@ussr.std.com> <JTW.92Sep25203600@pmws.lcs.mit.edu> <1992Sep26.163059.24740@rwwa.COM> Organization: IR Lines: 22 In article <1992Sep26.163059.24740@rwwa.COM> witr@rwwa.com writes: > You must show that it is failing in practice, not theory. Which is to say > that you must show that ``innovation'' has, in practice, been stifled. In 1984, Miller and Wegman at IBM invented a compression algorithm often called MW2. At the same time, independently, Welch at Unisys invented a compression algorithm often called LZW. Both IBM and Unisys filed for, and received, patents. Surprise: MW2 and LZW are the same algorithm. Explain how innovation was encouraged here. Later in that decade, Storer invented a compression algorithm he calls AP. Not long after that Bernstein (yeah, me) independently invented the same algorithm. Not long after that Horspool independently invented the *same* algorithm. Storer applied for and received a patent; the other two of us independently gave the algorithm to the public, but nobody can use it. Explain how innovation was encouraged here. Seems to me the public loses out. And we're just talking about one tiny field of programming here: non-statistical LZ78-like compression. How many examples are there in other fields? ---Dan