From: Black Unicorn <unicorn@schloss.li>
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 02:21:29 +0800
To: Donald Weightman <lab@vmeng.com
Subject: Re: Assume the worst, make lemonade?
In-Reply-To: <3.0.16.19970915133706.2fcf1be8@pop.radix.net>
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970915125900.006c2f68@schloss.li>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 01:37 PM 9/15/97 -0400, Donald Weightman wrote:
>Well, I'm as angry as anyone about last week's developments, but there's
>work to do ...
>
>Suppose that there is only a 12 - 30 month window for distributing strong
>crypto. If there is a grandfather clause at the end, then would it make
>sense to approach Chaum or other holders of potentially mission-critical or
>roadblock patents, and ask whether they want to revisit the terms of
>potential licenses, in view of the storm clouds over the political
>landscape?  It would seem better to get something *out* rather than wasting
>the narrow time window trying to negotiate past impasse.

Then why bother talking to patent holders?  Just release it on the sly and
damn the patent holders.  I mean, if your intent is to get the stuff out
there, and your essentially going to be committing a felony anyhow in a few
years, who cares about a stupid patent suit?

What really needs attention is getting key lengths and stego such that they
are prepared to endure 20 years of crypto-freeze and Moore's law.  That is
if, and please understand my examination of the issue to be academic- not
advisory, you want it out there in the "underground."

>The only time I met him, Chaum seemed to be expressing political views
>which might make him sympathetic to such an approach.

Chaum is Jurassic CryptoSuit.  He waited, and he's about to lose all the
cookies because DigiCash did such a bang up job at accomplishing nothing
with extremely promising technology.  (RSA without the bravado).  Placing
bets on Chaum for the purposes of getting the technology out is silly.
(They just got another $25m and they still only boast something like 2,500
customers in the entire U.S.)  Placing bets on Chaum, however, for the
purposes of usurping the technology with the hope that it may be legal once
again to use it without handing government the key, that might be a
worthwhile approach.  Perhaps the patents look cheap right now, but if the
administration bill flops (don't hold your breath from what I hear), they
might get real valueable real quick.  That's more like the market savvy
approach this group should be taking.