"Mark Wagner" <mar### [at] gtenet> wrote in message
news:394313ef@news.povray.org...
>
> Mark Gordon wrote in message <39421BB5.AB8BA839@mailbag.com>...
> >Digging out books...
> >
> >1984 - LZW compression invented and written up in IEEE Computer
> >1985 - LZW patent approved
> >1986 - Sperry (patent holder) merged with Burroughs to form Unisys, not
> >quite a purchase like I remembered
> >1987 - CompuServe creates GIF
> >1993 - Unisys becomes aware that GIF uses LZW compression
>
>
> Good news!  If the dates here are correct, the patent on LZW will expire
in
> two years.

What I do not understand:

When LZW was published 1984,
how can it be patented in 1985?

I mean as soon as I publish an idea in a newspaper,
it's not any more possible to patent it,
because the idea is general knowledge because
was published before


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