Re: bzip2 patent status query

[Mark Mielke <mark@mark.mielke.cc>]

On Wed, Jul 10, 2002 at 04:54:51PM +0100, jbradford@dial.pipex.com wrote:
> Is bzip2 *definitely* patent-unencumbered?
> It claims to be on it's home page, but I found this from the OpenBSD people:
> http://www.openbsd.org/2.8_packages/m68k/bzip-0.21.tgz-long.html

If you read a little further on the bzip pages, you would find that the
reason bzip2 and bzip are incompatible, is because bzip was found to be
patent-encumbered. The search for a better compression algorithm, that
wasn't covered by a patent began...

I actually remember when the original sources for the block sorter
compression program were posted to comp.sources.misc or somewhere
similar. The original impression most people had was 'this algorithm
is a hoax... it can't compress...' And so, I believe, nobody bothered
to patent it. :-)

mark

-- 
mark@mielke.cc/markm@ncf.ca/markm@nortelnetworks.com __________________________
.  .  _  ._  . .   .__    .  . ._. .__ .   . . .__  | Neighbourhood Coder
|\/| |_| |_| |/    |_     |\/|  |  |_  |   |/  |_   | 
|  | | | | \ | \   |__ .  |  | .|. |__ |__ | \ |__  | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

  One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all
                       and in the darkness bind them...

                           http://mark.mielke.cc/