At 12:08 PM 6/4/96 -0500, Paul Robichaux wrote:

2. Markoff's story says that NTT doesn't have licenses to use RSA technology (the quote from Junichi Kishigami), but the bit about safely swapping private-key info makes me wonder if instead they're using DH-- the patent for which expires next year. A telecom chipset could make productive use of DH for key exchange at call setup.

They could use RSA for key exchange outside the USA because RSA is only patented in the USA. With a license for RSA they could also sell them in the USA. My reading of the New York Times article is compatible with the view that Jim Bidzos is driving a hard bargin for such a license. (However, the article does say that NTT has already sold chips to IBM in the US. I guess you can sell, but not deliver, until you get the license.) Obviously if you are outside the USA, you will buy your equipment from Japan Inc. US manfactures will be frozen out. (However the US can still compete for the Chinese market since such privacy will be illegal there :-). ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bill Frantz | The CDA means | Periwinkle -- Computer Consulting (408)356-8506 | lost jobs and | 16345 Englewood Ave. frantz@netcom.com | dead teenagers | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA