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From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk,misc.int-property,alt.suit.att-bsdi,comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: Patents: What they are. What they aren't. Other factors.
Date: 30 Sep 1992 23:15:00 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Lines: 29
Distribution: inet
Message-ID: <1adcdkINNljf@early-bird.think.com>
References: <a=+p43j.mcgregor@netcom.com> <5204.Sep2920.32.3192@virtualnews.nyu.edu> <1992Sep30.035812.124@netcom.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: telecaster.think.com
In article <1992Sep30.035812.124@netcom.com> mcgregor@netcom.com (Scott Mcgregor) writes:
>Mr. Bernstein claims that changing the signals on a modem control line
>is inessential, as is changing polarities on magnetic media or
>changing phosphorescent displays on a cathode ray tube. But
>not vulcanization of rubber in Diamond vs. Diehr. But should we
>accept his characterization of what is essential or inessential?
Changing signals on a modem control line is a physical process, as is
changing polarities on a magnetic medium. The problem is that the patent
holders claim that their patent covers both of these, and extends to any
other medium. I.e., they claim that any process that performs the
compression algorithm is covered by their patent, regardless of the
specific physical transformation that is performed using the result.
That's what makes the physical transformation inessential.
So, a modem that performs compression is a patentable device, as is a disk
interface that compresses. But the compression algorithm itself isn't
patentable. If I find a new use for this algorithm, I should be able to
patent that as well, without infringing the patent on a compressing modem.
This raises a question about obviousness, though. Given the well-known
existence of data compression algorithms, is there anything unobvious about
applying a particular one to any particular problem? The LZW algorithm
itself may be novel, but algorithms aren't supposed to be patentable.
--
Barry Margolin
System Manager, Thinking Machines Corp.
barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar