PKWare Files a Patent Application for Secure .zip

prostoalex writes "The battle of ZIP formats might intensify as PKWare filed an application with USPTO to obtain a patent on its Secure Zip technology, which pretty much involves archiving with strong cryptography. If the patent gets granted, PKWare will license its algorithms for other software manufacturers. A representative of Aladdin Systems summed it up: "The good thing about the .zip file format was that you knew you could send it to everyone. Now that's getting broke.""

Comments

That's fine and all....

[flewp]

but I want a secure zipper. So many people are trying to get into my pants it's outrageous.

Re:That's fine and all....

[rhombic]

Somebody modded this as overrated? Must be on crack. The mere suggestion that anybody's trying to get into the pants of a slashdotter is hilarious (if a bit overused...)

Ironic quote from Aladdin Systems

[extrarice]

[quote]
A representative of Aladdin Systems summed it up: "The good thing about the .zip file format was that you knew you could send it to everyone. Now that's getting broke."
[/quote]

This quote is funny coming from a company that sells a competing compression format (.sit)

Text compression

[smeenz]

It's good to see Aladdin Systems are demonstrating their lossy text compression technology by saying that the ZIP format is "getting broke" rather than "getting broken"

</tongue>

Re:OSS To The Rescue?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are none. One might think that the OSS community might have had incentive to create programs to, for instance, create Tape ARchives, but it seems to have never come to pass. Us linux people will forever be using Wine in order to run WinZip.

(AFAIK, there are no similar solutions for the Mac. One of the many reasons why the "first 64-bit desktop computer" is still utterly useless.

Zip+encryption?

[AnotherBlackHat]

Gotta wonder how they got that past the examiner.
"No no, pkzip isn't prior art... the patent only covers the novel idea of using strong encryption"

-- this is not a .sig

Re:does this bother you?

[mackstann]

Why is it that EVERY person that points out a spelling or grammar mistake makes one themself?

Re:Use PGP

[yintercept]

Of course, if this is one of those "we've patented the world" claims, then any program that produces an encrypted file that is smaller than the original would be in violation of the patent.

There is still room for encryption programs that make files bigger. I've been thinking of making a program that would automatically pad a document with additional legal verbiage and routinely add one billable hour, and see if I could sell it to the legal community.

Re:i thought good cyphertext can't be compressed

[Anonymous Coward]

I am no expert on this (obviously) so I could be totally pulling this from my ass.

Expert or not, you should know what's coming out of your ass at all times.

The whole method?

[dmeranda]

"What we've filed a patent for is the whole method of combining.zip and strong encryption to create a secure.zip file," said Steve Crawford, the chief marketing officer at PKWare.

Who would patent just half the method?

I sure hope he didn't mean they're trying to patent the entire concept of encrypting zip files regardless of the algorithm or method. Because I've been encrypting zip files (among many other types) for a decade.

I've already got

[Apreche]

I've already got and had secure zip files for years.

somestuff.zip.pgp

whoah! what a concept!