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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:20:59 ADT
Vin McLellan (vin@shore.net)
Tue, 28 Jul 1998 14:19:01 -0400
Through the intercession of P.J. Ponder <ponder@freenet.tlh.fl.us>, I
just received an informative note about intellectual property issues in the
AES sweepstakes from Ed Roback of NIST <roback@csmes.ncsl.nist.gov>. It
does not seem to be in any way a private communications, so I offer it for
the edification of the List. Thanks, P.J.
Given the terms of the AES submission agreement (2.D.2 below,) I
think there are still unresolved issues to be addressed with regard to the
two issues Bob Baldwin < baldwin@rsa.com > has repeatedly raised:
(a) the need to have NIST include additional critical and useful
(but patented or patentable) implementation constructs -- modes or
protocols -- in the AES proper to make them available royalty-free for
future implementors, and
(b) the necessity of having NIST seek out and resolve patent (or
patent pending) claims from third parties, where those patents or patent
applications might impinge on an AES choice.
I note that, according to Mr. Roback, NIST is still seeking and
accepting comments on IP issues relevant to the AES selection and
promulgation process.
_Vin
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<Roback to Ponder, CC to McLellan - 7/28/98>
I was sent a copy of your recent posting and asked to provide a comment.
As you may be aware, all AES submitters had to include signed statements
that, among other things, identified each patent (or patent application)
they believed would be infringed by the practice of their AES candidate.
Moreover, they agreed, in writing, that IF SELECTED, they would make those
patents available royalty-free worldwide for the purposes of practicing the
AES. (See language of agreements below.) If a submitter would not sign
these statements, the submission would have been rejected as incomplete.
During the public review of the algorithms, we also plan to seek comments
on IP issues (e.g., if there are other patents that may apply that the
submitter is unaware of....)
Ed Roback, NIST
--------
2.D Intellectual Property Statements / Agreements / Disclosures
After review of the public comments on the draft minimum acceptability
requirements and evaluation criteria (published for comment in the
Federal Register on January 2, 1997), NIST has determined that
potential users of the AES desire to have the AES available worldwide
on a royalty free basis. Additionally, based upon the results of the
April 15, 1997 public workshop held on the draft evaluation criteria
and submission requirements, NIST believes there is a reasonable basis
to expect a sufficient number and variety of submissions willing to
meet these licensing conditions such that the expressed needs of
potential AES users can be accommodated.
In order to ensure this and minimize any intellectual property issues, the
following statement is required:
2.D.1 Statement by the Submitter
I, _____ (print submitter’s full name) ____ do hereby declare that to
the best of my knowledge the practice of the algorithm, reference
implementation, and mathematically optimized implementations, I have
submitted, known as ____ (print name of algorithm)____ may be covered
by the following U.S. and/or foreign patents: _____ (describe and
enumerate or state “none” if appropriate)_____ .
I do hereby declare that I am aware of no patent applications which
may cover the practice of my submitted algorithm, reference
implementation or mathematically optimized implementations. – OR –
I do hereby declare that the following pending patent applications
may cover the practice of my submitted algorithm, reference
implementation or mathematically optimized implementations: _____
(describe and enumerate) ______ .
I do hereby understand that my submitted algorithm may not be selected
for inclusion in the Advanced Encryption Standard. I also understand
and agree that after the close of the submission period, my submission
may not be withdrawn from public consideration for inclusion in the
Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) for Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES). I further understand that I will not receive
financial compensation from the government for my submission. I
certify that, to the best of my knowledge, I have fully disclosed all
patents and patent applications relating to my algorithm. I also
understand that the U.S. Government may, during the course of the
lifetime of the AES or during the FIPS public review process, modify
the algorithm’s specifications (e.g., to protect against a newly
discovered vulnerability). Should my submission be selected for
inclusion in the AES, I hereby agree not to place any restrictions on
the use of the algorithm intending it to be available on a worldwide,
non-exclusive, royalty-free basis.
I do hereby agree to provide the statements required by sections 2.D.2
and 2.D.3, below, for any patent or patent application identified to
cover practice of my algorithm, reference implementation or
mathematically optimized implementations and the right to use such
implementations for the purposes of the AES evaluation process.
I understand that NIST will announce the selected algorithm(s) and
proceed to publish the draft FIPS for public comment. If my algorithm
(or the derived algorithm) is not selected for inclusion in the FIPS
(including those not selected for second round of public evaluation),
I understand that all rights, including use rights of the reference
and mathematically optimized implementations, revert back to the
submitter (and other owner[s] as appropriate). Additionally, should
the U.S. Government not select my algorithm for inclusion in the AES
after a period of four years from the close of the submission date for
candidate algorithms, all rights revert to the submitter (and other
owner[s] as appropriate).
Signed:
Title:
Dated:
Place:
2.D.2 Statement by Patent (and Patent Application) Owner(s)
If there are any patents (or patent applications) identified by the
submitter, including those held by the submitter, the following
statement must be signed by each and every owner of the patent and
patent applications above identified.
I, ____ (print full name) ____ , of _____(print full postal
address)______ , am the owner or authorized representative of the
owner (print full name, if different than the signer) of the following
patent(s) and or patent application(s): ______ (enumerate) ______ ,
and do hereby agree to grant to any interested party if the algorithm
known as _____(print name of algorithm) _______ , is selected for
inclusion in the Advanced Encryption Standard, an irrevocable
nonexclusive royalty-free license to practice the referenced
algorithm, reference implementation or the mathematically optimized
implementations. Furthermore, I agree to grant the same rights in any
other patent granted to me or my company which may be necessary for
the practice of the referenced algorithm, reference implementation, or
the mathematically optimized implementations.
Signed:
Title:
Dated:
Place:
Note that the government may conduct research as may be appropriate to
verify the availability of the submission on a royalty
free basis worldwide.
2.D.3 Statement by Reference/Mathematically Optimized Implementations’
Owner(s)
The following must also be included:
I, _____(print full name)_______, am the owner of the submitted
reference implementation and mathematically optimized implementations
and hereby grant the Government and any interested party the right to
use such implementations for the purposes of the AES evaluation
process notwithstanding that the implementations may be copyrighted.
Signed:
Title:
Dated:
Place:
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Vin McLellan + The Privacy Guild + <vin@shore.net>
53 Nichols St., Chelsea, MA 02150 USA <617> 884-5548
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The following archive was created by hippie-mail 7.98617-22 on Fri Aug 21 1998 - 17:20:59 ADT