Re: why can't IETF emulate IEEE on this point?

Chris Elliott wrote:
>
> You mean like:
>
> Cisco is the owner of US published patent applications 20050154872 and 
> 20050154873 and one or more pending unpublished patent applications 
> relating to the subject matter of "Transport Layer Security (TLS) 
> Session Resumption without Server Side State" 
> <draft-salowey-tls-rfc4507bis-01.txt>.
>
> If technology in this document is included in a standard adopted by 
> IETF and any claims of any Cisco patents are necessary for practicing 
> the standard, any party will have the right to use any such patent 
> claims under reasonable, non-discriminatory terms, with reciprocity, 
> to implement and fully comply with the standard.
>
> The reasonable non-discriminatory terms are:
>
> If this standard is adopted, Cisco will not assert any patents owned 
> or controlled by Cisco against any party for making, using, selling, 
> importing or offering for sale a product that implements the standard, 
> provided, however that Cisco retains the right to assert its patents 
> (including the right to claim past royalties) against any party that 
> asserts a patent it owns or controls (either directly or indirectly) 
> against Cisco or any of Cisco's affiliates or successors in title or 
> against any products of Cisco or any products of any of Cisco's 
> affiliates either alone or in combination with other products; and 
> Cisco retains the right to assert its patents against any product or 
> portion thereof that is not necessary for compliance with the standard.
>
> Royalty-bearing licenses will be available to anyone who prefers that 
> option. 
Note that if:

  - Company A has a patent on nanosecond gate opening
  - Company A has issued the claim above, in conjunction with an IETF 
standard
  - Company B has a patent on the application of slow-drying oil paint
  - Company A paints their house with such an oil paint
  - Company B asserts their patent on slow-drying oil paint against 
company A

then company B will automatically be the target for an assertion of the 
nanosecond patent against all its uses of that patent, past, present and 
future, within or outside the scope of the relevant IETF standard.

It's a blanket license for use of the technology by any company that 
doesn't hold a patent, but it's definitely not a "no strings attached" 
policy.

(that said, it is a LOT better than a "we know something, but we're not 
telling" policy....)

                      Harald

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