Justin Pryzby writes: > I'll mail them today. The UCAR/NCAR routines are: > > "Copyright (C) 1986 by UCAR" > > and the LZW compression routine algorithm, which will be allowed in > Debian main shortly has: > > Date of Patent: Dec. 10, 1985 > > Are the UCAR routines copyright of the type that will expire (this > year?)?
Rules on expiration are (very!) different for patents and copyrights. US patents expire 20 years from filing or 17 years from issue, whichever is later[1]. At least until Disney strikes again, US copyrights on works for hire (the UCAR/NCAR routines seem to be such) expire 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is earlier; copyrights owned by a natural person (or natural persons) expire 70 years after the last surviving author's death. In every case, copyrights expire on January 1. [1]- The LZW compression patent expired last year; I think the delay for main was due to similar non-US patents. Michael