Although opinion rested solely on First Amendment claim, panel also suggested that with increased need for encryption to protect personal information online, regulations might also be subject to challenge under Fourth Amendment privacy protections. Dept. of Justice filed petition for rehearing. 730 et seq. Encryption code, being inherently functional, does not merit heightened First Amendment protection, the court held. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses district court, holding that the First Amendment protects computer course code.
Plaintiffs allege infringement of patent for secure time-stamping of digital documents.
Some observers have noted that the patent, if upheld, would cover operations common to nearly every time stamping and encryption process in existence. PGP's license to use plaintiff's public key encryption patents is void, due to an improper transfer in the chain of licensing, claims plaintiff, in seeking declaratory judgment. Challenge to State Department jurisdiction over export of diskette containing cryptographic software dismissed. Court held plaintiff unentitled to judicial review of the State Department's determination that the diskette was subject to department jurisdiction, because the Arms Export Control Act precludes judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act. Regulation did not violate plaintiff's due process rights, because regulation was rationally-based.