re pgp pem and rfc s was cryptography patents in c lj t k blaze cs jhu edu eifrig beanworld cs jhu edu jonathan eifrig writes fact it is unlawful to distribute code implementing rsa without a license to do so from pkp whether or not one is charging for it furthermore any use of rsa other than for research purposes allowed under us patent law is similarly unlawful therefore the average citizen cannot use rsa to encrypt message traffic in the us without a license from pkp wrong i don t think even pkp claims this one it is not unlawful to distribute code implementing rsa it appears to be unlawful to use it so i agree with your last sentence fact there are no restrictions yet on the use of cryptography under us law although this is beginning to look like it will change the only impediments to widespread use of rsa cryptography in the us are pkp s patents yes that s correct arthur l rubin a rubin dsg dse beckman com work beckman instruments brea mcimail com compuserve com arthur pnet cts com personal my opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer
