[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
RE: Looking for statement of patent issues re ISAKMP/Oakley
Bob,
No flame.. it would just be nice to be able to implement good technology
for use in the public domain without "paying through the nose" for it
(read: standardization) which would be good for all. I do understand
however that money is money (business is business) and RSA could not
continue to exist without having someone pay for their services.
Good Day,
Ken Durazzo
Systems Engineer - Bay Networks "Where information flows"
At 09:38 AM 3/11/98 -0800, Bob Baldwin wrote:
>Paul,
> RSA Data Security owns exclusive rights to the
>Schnorr patent and RSA's lawyers claim that any implementation
>of DSS would infringe this patent. The US government
>disagrees with this interpretation. The issue has not
>been tested in court.
> The current shipping version of BSAFE (3.0) from RSA
>contains an implementation of DSS. The BSAFE 4.0 release,
>which is currently in beta, contains all the extra
>algorithms needed to fully comply with the FIPS that defines
>DSS. For example, BSAFE 4.0 includes the SHA1 based random
>number generator described in the FIPS document.
> Most vendors of IPSec products have already licensed
>BSAFE, so the possible patent issues are not a problem.
> --Bob Baldwin
> Technical Director E-Commerce
> RSA Data Security
>
>P.S. For all of you who want to flame me or RSA for having
>patents or for having lawyers, go ahead. After my first
>year at RSA I got used to being flamed whenever I post.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Paul Koning [SMTP:pkoning@xedia.com]
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 1998 8:48 AM
>> To: ipsec@tis.com
>> Subject: Looking for statement of patent issues re ISAKMP/Oakley
>>
>> I was putting together a memo on licensing needs for IPSec products,
>> and looked in the various drafts for guidance. From what I
>> understand, IETF standards-track documents are supposed to contain a
>> section discussing any patent issues that may pertain to the
>> technology in question.
>>
>> A number of the transform specs contain such sections (e.g., DES and
>> IDEA). Somewhat to my surprise, the ISAKMP/Oakley documents do not.
>>
>> I also looked in other places (specifically, Scheier) for input. It
>> mentioned the well-known fact that RSA is subject to patents and
>> licenses. No confusion there.
>>
>> Scheier also discussed the situation for DSS. As I read it, it sounds
>> like the patent situation there is muddled. In particular, he
>> mentions a U.S. Government patent (D. Kravitz) supposedly generally
>> licensed at no cost -- but also mentions that claims have been made
>> that the Schorr patent applies as well.
>>
>> Question: Does anyone have any further insight on this topic? And
>> could this be added to the document?
>>
>> paul
>>
>> --
>> !---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> --
>> ! Paul Koning, NI1D, C-24183
>> ! Xedia Corporation, 119 Russell Street, Littleton, MA 01460, USA
>> ! phone: +1 978 952 6000 ext 115, fax: +1 978 952 6090
>> ! email: pkoning@xedia.com
>> ! Pgp: 27 81 A9 73 A6 0B B3 BE 18 A3 BF DD 1A 59 51 75
>> !---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> --
>> ! "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over
>> ! any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to
>> prevent
>> ! harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not
>> ! a sufficient warrant." -- John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty" 1859
>
Follow-Ups: