Setuid Patent

[decvax!aps]

John, the patent you requested is (I believe)

"Protection of Data File Contents",
Inventor: Dennis M. Ritchie,
Assignee: Bell Telephone Labs,
Filed: Jul. 9, 1973,
Patent num: 4,135,240,
Dated: Jan. 16, 1979.

I have my copy next to my plates.
Armando.

[idis!dan]

I once saw some sort of government announcement of the setuid patent.
The patent seemed to be awarded more for a hardware device that implemented
something analagous to the setuid file system feature than for the setuid
concept itself. I was a bit confused at the time, but I think I understand
why this was done. Until recently, it was impossible to patent software,
and even now it is possible only in unbelievably restricted circumstances.
Basically, patent law can only be used to protect ideas that are also
inventions (i.e. hardware).

I am not a lawyer, and I don't want to give the impression that I speak
with authority, but I do wish to express what I believe is an informed
opinion. If the patent office had thought the setuid patent was for a
software feature used in the UNIX* operating system, it would never have
granted the patent. If AT&T had tried to prosecute a setuid *software*
patent infringement suit in court, it would only have succeeded in making
fools out of a few thousand of its corporate lawyers.

Why did AT&T bother to get the setuid patent? Heck if I know. Why did
AT&T donate it to mankind? I don't know the answer to this one either,
but I can speculate wildly: someone threatened to ignore the setuid
patent and AT&T (perhaps Western Electric would be more accurate)
decided to milk the setuid patent for what it was worth (the appearence
of altruism).

Dan Strick
[decvax|mcnc]!idis!dan

Please route all flames through harpo.