From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.1 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_SIGNED,DKIM_VALID, DKIM_VALID_AU,MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 18415 invoked from network); 2 Mar 2023 13:28:41 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (2600:3c01:e000:146::1) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 2 Mar 2023 13:28:41 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 638A643BF2; Thu, 2 Mar 2023 23:28:36 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-ua1-x934.google.com (mail-ua1-x934.google.com [IPv6:2607:f8b0:4864:20::934]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 8C32143BEF for ; Thu, 2 Mar 2023 23:28:31 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-ua1-x934.google.com with SMTP id s13so6131809uac.8 for ; Thu, 02 Mar 2023 05:28:31 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=dartmouth.edu; s=google1; t=1677763710; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:from:to:cc:subject :date:message-id:reply-to; bh=ZdR56uUtJyYLFQvfgE+K62piu6grim4F3+Fh7LMAwSY=; b=e/lltA5htmgvKkfKMDBZSVKijp/DhON8tnLQLmTpN34yw/6kMksQMKINAK3fG0dAIy cG+/1SUAaNOj89BmCyXXaCiSO0EVfADMeFAPZLch0Idbk7QxhQ1//XV970fnqra996c/ c+NE/RoJCVgqhcnBo5p+nnz6i1HXR1aRlY+BvcCZVpyNCoU1EtFoGtzZBWfjja6aw21G KCfPBR94qIxrj3FHOiXi1eZRDrGQDU8ms/J6BW9pyVczZZWd+5qRvI1C3uKypm29sB32 rj+eS6693EIvn44qM/1v8uVZy61cdhxZEgu2UB6rIjcNg+bky9qBGNgniFHVMa36dyN5 +fig== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20210112; t=1677763710; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:x-gm-message-state :from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to; bh=ZdR56uUtJyYLFQvfgE+K62piu6grim4F3+Fh7LMAwSY=; b=1+GqwYVYzE6N8ST9KLWWI673Kbx5iP3/1MtJ0IqMPAA7klsS+40vmbAu3dQJqgb33G VouQ+lmsn7l585WZnMKgo+IW60hz9s40KLVWk/cehKEU5c50xDMoOj1RxWDpKam7UZl7 15lBylvoex/Xv7BrnB8XGXmp2iN9xmXC517LP2Sl/hKvjwg3btvweIVxtDKcMJNxF3aj tsfeKCfws/dASuqITlirtN0+SriSRbFOtGd50B6KU+9MtqCKGd9EBFv9g8G6nZFDSFY+ HO5q6omuMpIvRpTVTaO7ullkXu30bDjuZJaIrINvmSZ1U1B5dgUFQIFq2Rhrx7yjzIkl R1TA== X-Gm-Message-State: AO0yUKWWlRyMbpPCbgFp25cHOQkSEg03ZEZQloNXwlHDFP4k4qAWmgUI 0eyHxd3/mCaaIFBd2CrrqA11C4iZzxGZbeZWeMdacVO9oQYeMput X-Google-Smtp-Source: AK7set/H+DtOB4hxeQ0T0OY7pX4ukae86lkQNRVq4k+vxtjVJY0gcXiI/xCZaS6NbSTxHBi69hCaW8Qfq3pbqSRrIAQ= X-Received: by 2002:a05:6122:c78:b0:401:a4bf:210d with SMTP id i56-20020a0561220c7800b00401a4bf210dmr5211493vkr.1.1677763710277; Thu, 02 Mar 2023 05:28:30 -0800 (PST) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Douglas McIlroy Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2023 08:28:14 -0500 Message-ID: To: davida@pobox.com, TUHS main list Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Message-ID-Hash: BQPII6R65Z7ZB562KD3SRE2X2OLDRXEF X-Message-ID-Hash: BQPII6R65Z7ZB562KD3SRE2X2OLDRXEF X-MailFrom: douglas.mcilroy@dartmouth.edu X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] A second Unix Patent List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: > This one, perhaps: > https://patents.google.com/patent/US3964059A/en Yes, that's the Typo patent. Notice that it features "method and apparatus". The bizarre idea of doing it in hardware was a figment of the patent department's imagination. This was a dance to circumvent the belief at the time that software could not be patented. Software was smuggled in by stating that it was one way to realize the apparatus in the patent disclosure. The now obsolete belief was fallout from Gottsschalk v Benson, in which the Supreme Court invalidated another Bell Labs patent, on a trick to save a few cycles in converting integers between BCD and binary. The grounds for rejection were roughly that software was math (a "mental step") and therefore not patentable. The Benson decision, written by William O. Douglas, makes ludicrous reading: it argues, though the patent does not claim, that a patent on this narrow method could be enforced against any program that converts BCD to binary. Apparently Douglas thought that all black-box programs for a given purpose were the same, although the patent office did not so conflate different mechanical or electrical apparatuses that have a common purpose. Doug