I bumped into #1.4 (patented research) not too long ago -- I wanted to try out Bi-Normal Separation for feature space reduction in a machine learning classifier

I bumped into #1.4 (patented research) not too long ago -- I wanted to try out Bi-Normal Separation for feature space reduction in a machine learning classifier, but BNS comes out of HP Labs and would need to be licensed. I think the wording on this point needs to be changed; why would it only apply to those in the US?