[TUHS] History of cal(1)?

[Ron Natalie via TUHS]

I don’t disagree, but software copyright is almost as old as software.   
The earliest use was back in 1961, long before UNIX or its predecessors 
existed.
Its nonexistance was not the reason Western Electric didn’t use it.



------ Original Message ------
From "Paul Winalski" <paul.winalski at gmail.com>
To "Ron Natalie" <ron at ronnatalie.com>
Cc "TUHS main list" <tuhs at tuhs.org>
Date 9/25/2025 11:06:09 AM
Subject Re: [TUHS] Re: History of cal(1)?

>On Thu, Sep 25, 2025 at 10:14 AM Ron Natalie via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org> 
>wrote:
>>
>>There were a number of reasons why Western Electric used Trade Secret
>>rather than copyright.   Some of it was due to the nature of Bell 
>>Labs.
>>Other, is that when your protecting TECHNOLOGIC INFORMATION, trade
>>secret allows you to stop that dissemination.   Copyright, only
>>prohibits making copies, but not dissemination of the information and
>>patents by their very nature require the information to be disclosed.
>>
>US patent law doesn't specifically mention software.  For a long time 
>the US PTO, and the courts,  allowed algorithms to be part of a patent 
>declaration, but only as part of a device.  Algorithms expressed as 
>software were not in and of themselves patentable.  That stance 
>gradually changed.
>
>As you point out copyright protects creative expression of an idea or 
>process.  It does not protect the idea or process itself.  That is what 
>a patent does, and for a long time software wasn't considered 
>patentable.  So if you wanted to protect technological information 
>related to software the alternative you were left with was to make it a 
>trade secret--to legally require that anyone to which you divulged the 
>secret did not disclose it to anyone else without your permission.  The 
>advantage of a trade secret is that the information is not disclosed.  
>The disadvantage is that if someone else independently discovers it and 
>obtains a patent for it, the patent holder may demand that you stop 
>using the idea.
>
>-Paul W.