Raul Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Sun, Dec 19, 2004 at 03:45:40PM -0500, Justin Pryzby wrote: >> This is probably hotly debated, but how do math-algorthm copyrights >> work? > > Articles about mathematics, and specific expressions of algorithms, > are copyrightable, but the concepts aren't. > > In the U.S. 17 USC 102 states: > > In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship > extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, > concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it > is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work. > > In international law, article 2 of the Berne convention states: > > It shall, however, be a matter for legislation in the countries of the > Union to prescribe that works in general or any specified categories > of works shall not be protected unless they have been fixed in some > material form. > > Which I think meant that the rules could vary from country to country. > However, WIPO has since come out and stated (in article 2 of the treaty): > > Copyright protection extends to expressions and not to ideas, > procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such. > > Is that clear enough?
And this is probably the reason we have thousands of (probably invalid) software patents instead. -- Måns Rullgård [EMAIL PROTECTED]
