Re: Protecting Copyright.

[John C Klensin <[e-mail]>]

--On Tuesday, April 28, 2020 13:09 -0500 Pete Resnick
<[e-mail]> wrote:

> On 28 Apr 2020, at 12:42, Khaled Omar wrote:
> 
>> Is this means that anyone can use the contents of the IDs
>> stored at  the ietf repository !!!!
> 
> Anyone who is contributing their work to the standards process
> can include derivative works of other items contributed to the
> standards process (caveat the information below).
> 
>> So what is the copyright text included at the beginning and
>> the end of  each ID !!!!
> 
> It specifically allows for derivative works. See BCP 78 (RFC
> 5378) section 5.3.c
> <https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp78#section-5.3>. By including
> that copyright statement (and not including any other
> limitations), the author has granted the right to make those
> derivative works.
> 
>> Does this includes applying what is included inside the ID
>> without  contacting the draft authors ?!
> 
> Yes. An author is allowed to limit the right to make
> derivative works (see section 6
> <https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp78#section-6>, but I do not
> see this limitation in draft-omar-nep, which means you have
> granted the right to make derivative works to the IETF Trust,
> and the IETF Trust grants the right to include derivative
> works in new contributions to the standards process to other
> authors. There is no requirement for contacting the original
> draft author.

The one thing that I'm surprised that Pete did not add is that,
if something new and derivative actually draws inspiration (or
text) from a previous document, it is generally considered
courteous to discuss the idea with those responsible for that
early document.  It is also a good idea from the standpoint of
advancing the state of the art and any relevant standards work
because comparing different ways of thinking about things often
leads to better insights.  

However, as Pete points out, neither is a requirement.  Equally
important, as Rob Wilton pointed out, if one were actually
trying to protect the ideas, as distinct from how they are
stated, you (or whomever was involved) would need one or more
patents, not just claims of copyright on documents.  Whether
your particular metric was patentable given that 1988 patent is
a subject about which you should consult your favorite patent
attorney or other expert because probably no one reading this
list is competent to give you advice, much less free advice that
you can trust, on that subject.  In addition, IANAL, but I've
been told several times, privately and on IETF lists, that the
patent laws of several countries prevent obtaining patents if
public disclosure is made of the claimed invention prior to some
point in the patent application process and that sharing ideas
with an open standards body for consideration by that group is
typically considered public disclosure.

   john