[OpenID] OpenID IPR Policy Draft

Gabe Wachob gabe.wachob at amsoft.net
Thu Dec 21 19:32:38 UTC 2006


Yes, you missed #4.

I think #3 is still a debatable point. It causes *problems* for open source,
but those problems are dealt with today -- at least from what I see. I agree
with Ben Laurie that it would be much better if the automatic creation of a
license could be made to happen, but there are some practicalities legally
and procedurally (when does a license come into being? Does this mean that
everyone with IPR that needs to be licensed has to agree to the exact same
license?) that could make imposing this difficult. 

This is definitely one of the first topics that we can discuss with
appropriate legal counsel if we choose to go that direction before we take
OpenID to a standards organization that has already solved these issues (or
not, according to Ben). 
  

	-Gabe

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Recordon, David [mailto:drecordon at verisign.com]
> Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 11:27 AM
> To: general at openid.net; Gabe Wachob
> Cc: specs at openid.net
> Subject: RE: [OpenID] OpenID IPR Policy Draft
> 
> So just circling back on this, summarizing the key points I saw from the
> discussion.
> 
> 1) We can't directly take the IPR Policy from a SDO (such as the W3C)
> and use it verbatim.  Those policies are tied to the specific SDO's
> policies and procedures which we'd also have to adopt in order to be
> useful.
> 2) The trigger for disclosure has to be active, not passive.
> 3) Just requiring issuance of a license is not strong enough to support
> Open Source implementations.  Rather needs to be worded along the lines
> of "a unilateral license or covenant of non-assertion (etc) that does
> not require affirmative action on the part of the licensee".
> Microsoft's Open Specification Promise is viewed by members of the IETF
> community as the clearest expression of this.
> 5) The OpenID community could theoretically patent its own work to
> prevent someone else from trying to claim the invention.
> 
> I miss anything?
> 
> --David
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: general-bounces at openid.net [mailto:general-bounces at openid.net] On
> Behalf Of Recordon, David
> Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 2:43 PM
> To: general at openid.net
> Cc: specs at openid.net
> Subject: [OpenID] OpenID IPR Policy Draft
> 
> Hey guys,
> Been working with Gabe, and others, on starting to draft an IPR Policy
> for OpenID specifications.  We'd appreciate feedback in terms of if what
> is written captures the correct intent of the community?  We realize the
> language isn't technically as tight as it needs to be, though first want
> to make sure it is saying the right thing.  It is largely based on the
> IPR Policy for Microformats.
> 
> http://openid.net/wiki/index.php/IPR_Policy
> 
> Thanks,
> --David
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