OpenID 2.0 finalization progress

[Kevin Turner]

On Fri, 2007-10-19 at 10:02 -0700, Paul C. Bryan wrote:
> On Thu, 2007-10-18 at 19:13 -0700, Dick Hardt wrote:
> 
> > I don't see why the two processes need to be any more dependant on  
> > each other then they are already.
> 
> With all due respect, why take the risk that there are intellectual
> property issues after the specification is finalized?

I'll let my ignorance show here: How will any potential IPR issues
affect the final specification?  I recognize that many parties require
the IPR documentation before moving forward with their adoption of
OpenID.  However, there are many parties who do _not_ feel that need,
and I do not understand what the downside is to calling the
specification final now.  Are we waiting on the results of a patent
search which might necessitate re-working parts of the protocol?  What
exactly are the consequences, worst case, in calling the specification
"final" before the IPR is sealed?