Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Path: msuinfo!caen!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wupost!m.cs.uiuc.edu!kadie
From: kadie@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Re: VCR+ code question: Was it cracked and legal action taken?
Message-ID: <1992Jan9.230102.24871@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
References: <1992Jan7.221526.26499@athena.mit.edu> <1992Jan8.214949.4367@news.cs.brandeis.edu> <13806@oasys.dt.navy.mil> <1992Jan09.175040.12321nagle@netcom.COM>
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1992 23:01:02 GMT

nagle@netcom.COM (John Nagle) writes:

[...]
>      The PTO takes the position that you can't patent a "mathematical
>formula", but the Supreme Court ordered them to accept computer programs
>as inventions.
[...]

I don't think this is accurate. I would say:

>      The PTO [traditionally took] the position that 
> you can't patent a "mathematical
>formula", but the Supreme Court ordered them to accept [a mechanical
> machine that included a computer program]
>as inventions. [After that, they seemed to start taking computer programs.
>Recently they asked for comments as to the wisdom of this new policy.]

- Carl
-- 
Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
