Re: Proposal to create IETF IPR Advisory Board

["Steven M. Bellovin" <[e-mail]>]

On Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:17:39 -0800
"Lawrence Rosen" <[e-mail]> wrote:


> > Rather than a standing board (which was what I thought you had
> > intended), 
> 
> [LR:] I had indeed intended a standing board, and still do. Why have
> to agitate and recruit an expert team over every question, when a
> simple question referred to an IPR Advisory Board for an answer will
> probably suffice? But like most of your points in this paragraph,
> it's open for discussion....
> 
The advantage of a per-WG board is that members would likely have
familiarity with the technology and history of the field.  The
advantage of a standing board is familiarity with patents and
procedures.  Pick it...
 
> [LR:] Be very careful. No attorney who can be deemed to speak on
> behalf of IETF regarding patents should be there opining IETF's
> opinion about actual patents. Instead, I recommend that we have an
> invited (and probably open) selection of other attorneys who are
> willing to sign up and actually participate as individuals, not
> representing specific clients and speaking with appropriate liability
> caveats. For process purposes, however, the IPR Advisory Board can
> probably be chaired by an IETF patent counsel just to make sure
> everyone behaves.... We'll have to see how many brave attorneys are
> actually willing to participate in the entire IETF community's
> behalf, but if W3C is an example, we'll find lots of willing
> attorneys. :-)

I wonder -- the IETF has been known to be hostile to lawyers... 

> > Anyway -- I think this is a promising suggestion, and not
> > inconsistent with IETF practice or policy.  But a fully-fleshed out
> > I-D -- one that addresses the membership and the alternatives -- is
> > probably needed, if only as a matter of form.
> 
> [LR:] Ahhhhh yes, form. :-) Does anyone else volunteer? Do we have a
> second?

I'll participate, but I sure don't have the cycles to write anything,
nor am I likely to be at very many IETF meetings for the PAG WG or even
the PAG bar bof...


		--Steve Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb