From: rishab@dxm.ernet.in
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 94 13:21:33 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Elliptic crypto is patented
Message-ID: <gate.imcBXc1w165w@dxm.ernet.in>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Eric asks whether elliptic encryption might not be a solution to the world's
patenting woes.

Last April, schirado@lab.cc.wmich.edu (Schirado) asked whether anyone was 
interested in trying an implementation. I was relatively free of work at that
time, and volunteered. Then I got busy; IAC it appeared far too slow for
software.

Read: _An Implementation of Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems Over F-2-155_ , 
IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, Vol. 11, #5, June 1993 
(page 804).

Incidentally Next Computer's Fast Elliptic Encryption, FEE, used
elliptic curves, and is patented (by R E Crandell, USP# 5,159,632,27 October 
1992); also, elliptic crypto is probably covered by the DH/PKP patents.


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