Since there are rsmtp fans on this list, I thought it worth mentioning that the patent will be issued next week. This is for a protocol that I invented in 1997 or 1998 and that I would nowadays modify to include strong anti-spam measures. The US patent office moves so fast that I was able to leave Bell Labs for five years between the patent application and the issuance.
>From our lawyers: --- Congratulations! The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has just informed us that the patent for your invention, "Really Simple Mail Transport Protocol", will issue on 09/05/2006, as U.S. Patent Number 7103635 --- This should at last clarify the legal status of what I can say about rsmtp.
