Abigail wrote:
I don't think you quoted the part where they put a restriction on the algorithms (which, AFAIK, are not copyrightable or patentable; they fall in the same categories as ideas, which can't be copyrighted either).
Ummm, at least in the US, algorythms _can_ be patented. See GIF patent: http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US04558302__ and Shure has a patent for DSP: http://www.shure.com/news/pressreleases/pr-dsppatent.html and finally this extract:
All of these patents may be bogus and could be overturned by a court; nonetheless, it is technically legal to patent algorithms under some circumstances in the U.S. Other countries vary...under U.S. patent law a mathematical algorithm is not patentable if the patent claim preempts the entire algorithm, but may be patentable if it applies the algorithm to accomplish a specific technical purpose.
John
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John Peacock
Director of Information Research and Technology
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
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