Re: [93attendees] Network experiment during the meeting

[Benson Schliesser <[e-mail]>]

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015, Toerless Eckert <[e-mail]> wrote:

> On Wed, Jul 15, 2015 at 12:56:35PM -0400, Stephen Botzko wrote:
>
> > There is *nothing* in the Note Well (nor in the RFCs it references) about
> > indemnification.
>
> Sure, but the note well does not explain why the IETF does it, and
> why it has attendees accept it.
>
> s/idemnify/protect/ ?
>
>
Speaking only as an individual, with my personal understanding, and
foremost noting that I am not a lawyer:

The "Note Well" statement tells participants that what they publicly say,
write, sing and dance, etc in an IETF venue is considered a contribution to
the IETF. This has some legal implications, including that the IETF has the
right to publish those contributions. This is very much about copyrights,
licensing, etc. The Note Well does not make any statements about
indemnification.

Whether the meaning of the Note Well and it's implications are beneficial
or detrimental to any particular person or organization is an exercise left
up to the individuals that contribute and/or make use of contributions. In
my view, that very much depends on the specific circumstances. The IETF
rules certainly don't take the place of IPR law, legal disputes, and all of
that. That being said, if we are all "playing fair" with each other then it
should encourage collaboration.

Finally, as is typical in these kinds of things, it is often prudent to
check with legal counsel if one has questions. Of course, the process of
"checking with legal" is usually fraught with its own costs (financial and
otherwise) and is therefore a choice best made by the individuals involved.
:)

Cheers,
-Benson