[4421] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: [John Gilmore ] RSA claiming trademark on
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steve Schear)
Thu Apr 1 17:11:05 1999
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 1999 13:58:38 -0800
To: perry@piermont.com, cryptography@c2.net
From: Steve Schear <schear@lvcm.com>
In-Reply-To: <87d81o6ttm.fsf@jekyll.piermont.com>
At 02:09 PM 4/1/99 -0500, Perry E. Metzger wrote:
>> Security Dynamics Technologies, Inc. has sent a letter to the P1363
>> working group regarding trademark protection of the RSA name. The letter
>> is now available from our patents page
>> http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1363/patents.html
>> or directly at
>> http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1363/letters/SecurityDynamics.jpg
>
>Now that their patent is getting ready to expire (next fall), RSA is
>trying to crack down on anyone who refers to the use of the
>algorithm by calling it "RSA". They don't mind if you call it "type
>1" or something else meaningless and irrelevant, though. This is a
>new low for a company known for self-serving legal bluster.
I should think that the approach taken by generic pharmaceuticals, 'compare
with Brand X,' would also suffice to get around RSA's trademark issue.
--Steve
