// COMPLETE THREAD

PGP

4 expanded posts · every known parent and child

NODE b831986dPGP "Sentient1" <Shade@cdale1.midwest.net>Fri, 16 Feb 1996 13:07:31 +0800

Esteemed GentlePersons,

      Could you settle a dispute?  Is it, or Is it not, legal to take 
PGP source code and the like out of the country if it is written on 
paper?

Thank You

NODE e344cef7Re: PGP "Perry E. Metzger" <perry@piermont.com>Fri, 16 Feb 1996 13:55:56 +0800

"Sentient1" writes:
>       Could you settle a dispute?  Is it, or Is it not, legal to take 
> PGP source code and the like out of the country if it is written on 
> paper?

It appears to be legal, as MIT has done it. A written opinion has held
that other crypto sources can be taken out on paper, but no formal
opinion of the PGP sources in the MIT book has happened. It may only
be legal to take these sources out in the form of a published book,
however -- random printouts you do yourself may or may not be legal to
export since they don't qualify as "public domain" information.

In practice, of course, if you don't tell anyone and you arent someone
prominent you will never be caught no matter what you do.

Perry

NODE 765b135eRe: PGP Derek Atkins <warlord@ATHENA.MIT.EDU>Fri, 16 Feb 1996 14:08:29 +0800

>       Could you settle a dispute?  Is it, or Is it not, legal to take 
> PGP source code and the like out of the country if it is written on 
> paper?

This is a leading question.  If you just print it out, it might not be
legal to export.  If it is printed in a book (e.g., the PGP Sourcecode
Book, MIT Press, 1995) then it should be legal to take it out of the
country.  IANAL, YMMV.

Hope this helps.

-derek

NODE 8b5d2868Re: PGP C Matthew Curtin <cmcurtin@gatekeeper.cb.att.com>Sat, 17 Feb 1996 11:19:36 +0800

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

>>>>> "Sentient1" == Sentient1  <Shade@cdale1.midwest.net> writes:

Sentient1> Esteemed GentlePersons, Could you settle a dispute?  Is it,
Sentient1> or Is it not, legal to take PGP source code and the like
Sentient1> out of the country if it is written on paper?

Yes, it is legal to export cryptographic source code in printed form -
the exact same code that is illegal to carry out on a floppy
disk. (See the preface to Zimmermann's book "PGP Source Code and
Internals," published by MIT Press.)

- --
C Matthew Curtin    [AT&T|Bell] Labs     Internet Gateway Applications Group
http://www.att.com/homes/matt_curtin.html PGP OK cmcurtin@gatekeeper.att.com

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