For now, the IETF has not changed its policy about using patented technologies in the standards process. The tension between the IETF and the open source community will likely increase as open source software continues to grow in popularity.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) (http://www.ietf.org/) is the group that defines Internet Standards (STDs) such as FTP (http://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc959.txt), SMTP (http://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc821.txt), and PPP (http://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1661.txt). The Standards documents (STDs – a subset of all RFCs and often referred to by their RFC number not their STD number) help make the efficient interoperability of the Internet possible.
In April 2003, an attempt to persuade the IETF to abandon its use of patented technologies failed (http://news.com.com/2100-1013-996351.html). The IETF decided to continue to let its Working Groups use patented technologies in the Standards process on a RAND (Reasonable And NonDiscriminatory) license basis (http://www.ietf.org/IESG/Section10.txt).
Historically, the IETF has been neutral about using patents in the Standards process, and its position is summed up best in the charter of the IPR Working Group (http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/ipr-charter.html):
“The IETF and the Internet have greatly benefited from the free exchange of ideas and technology. For many years the IETF normal behavior was to standardize only unencumbered technology.
While the ‘Tao’ of the IETF is still strongly oriented toward unencumbered technology, we can and do make use of technology that has various encumbrances. One of the goals of RFC2026 ‘The Internet Standards Process — Revision 3’ was to make it easier for the IETF to make use of encumbered technology when it made sense to do so.”
The IPR Working Group is now working on clarifying how contributors should disclose patented technologies in the Standards process (http://www.ietf.org/ipr.html).
It is worth noting that two documents in the IETF’s RFC database mention patents. The first is RFC 1822, an informational RFC, dated 08/95 (http://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1822.txt), entitled “A Grant of Rights to Use a Specific IBM patent with Photuris.” The patent in question, U.S. patent 5,148,479, relates to the Photuris key management protocol. The purpose section of RFC 1822 states:
“This Request for Comments records a grant by IBM Corporation to permit the conditional free use of one of its patents. This grant is made to help facilitate adoption of the Internet Key Management Protocol contribution IBM has offered to the IETF. It should be noted that the confirmatory license mentioned is optional. The grant is made in this RFC and parties have it even if they do not request a confirmation from IBM.”
Few websites (and none of the websites that I’ve cited in this series of posts about software patents) mention this patent (http://www.google.com/search?as_q=5148479).
Similarly, in 1996, Hewlett Packard granted rights in U.S. Patents 5,293,635 and 5,421,024 (http://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1988.txt). Again, no major websites mention either patent (http://www.google.com/search?as_q=5293635) (http://www.google.com/search?as_q=5421024).
For open source developers, RAND licenses on Standards could be cost prohibitive. For commercial concerns, a royalty-free environment would provide no financial incentive for contributing technologies to the Standards process. The IETF is not likely to change U.S. patent law, but it could certainly change its policy on using patents, software or otherwise, in the Standards process. The tension between the IETF and the open source community will likely increase as open source software continues to grow in popularity.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: In the summer of 2025, Clocktower Intern Mark Magyar used artificial intelligence (AI) software to shorten over 100 Clocktower articles by 17%. The shortened articles are included as comments to the original ones. And 17 is the most random number (https://www.giantpeople.com/4497.html) (https://www.clocktowerlaw.com/5919.html).]
* Software Patents: IETF Standards (Part 6)
For now, the IETF has not changed its policy about using patented technologies in the standards process. The tension between the IETF and the open source community will likely grow as open source software gains popularity.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) (http://www.ietf.org/
) defines Internet Standards (STDs) like FTP, SMTP, and PPP. These documents (a subset of RFCs) make Internet interoperability possible.
In April 2003, efforts to persuade the IETF to ban patented technologies failed (http://news.com.com/2100-1013-996351.html
). The IETF allows its Working Groups to adopt patented technologies on a RAND (Reasonable And NonDiscriminatory) license basis (http://www.ietf.org/IESG/Section10.txt
).
The IETF has long been neutral on patents, as summarized in the IPR Working Group charter (http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/ipr-charter.html
):
“The IETF and the Internet have greatly benefited from the free exchange of ideas and technology. For years the IETF standardized only unencumbered technology. While the ‘Tao’ of the IETF is still strongly oriented toward unencumbered technology, we can and do make use of encumbered technology when it makes sense.”
The IPR Working Group is clarifying disclosure rules (http://www.ietf.org/ipr.html
). Two RFCs already mention patents:
RFC 1822 (08/95), a grant by IBM to allow conditional free use of U.S. patent 5,148,479, covering the Photuris key management protocol.
RFC 1988 (1996), in which Hewlett Packard granted rights to patents 5,293,635 and 5,421,024.
These examples are rarely cited online.
For open source developers, RAND licenses may be cost-prohibitive. For commercial players, royalty-free standards offer little incentive to contribute. While the IETF cannot change U.S. patent law, it can adjust its policy on patented technologies. With open source adoption rising, the tension between the IETF and the open source community is unlikely to fade.