Path: newssvr20.news.prodigy.com!newsmst01.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!logbridge.uoregon.edu!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!ucberkeley!news.sanjose1.Level3.net!Level3.net!news.oracle.com!not-for-mail From: "Mikito Harakiri" Newsgroups: comp.databases.theory References: Subject: Re: Is b-tree index patented? Lines: 25 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 Message-ID: Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:16:00 -0700 NNTP-Posting-Host: 130.35.179.109 X-Trace: news.oracle.com 1066753552 130.35.179.109 (Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:25:52 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:25:52 PDT Xref: newssvr20.news.prodigy.com comp.databases.theory:21850 "Alfredo Novoa" wrote in message news:e4330f45.0310210351.343fabbe@posting.google.com... > > Why new > > algorithm is not an invention? > > Because algorithms are mathematics and mathematics has nothing > inventive in itself. I beg your pardon, but you sound much like Nobel. Why such discrimination? How about cryptography? Nice application of math to practical problems. US Patent 3,962,539 describes the Data Encryption Standard (DES). > But most software patents are not algorithms. Agreed. > Imagine that Codd had patented the application of logic to the data > management field. It would be ridiculous IMO. I see nothing wrong with it. It would be inventor who get's rewarded. How Codd is different from Alexander Graham Bell?