Patented RFC Code

["Contreras, Jorge" <Jorge.Contreras at wilmerhale.com>]

> "Can I take code from a RFC and use it
> in free software?" 

Under the current rules, if it is patented, 
you will need a license from the patent owner.

Also under the current rules, if the Contributor
has a patent covering the software, he/she is
required to disclose the patent.  These
disclosures are posted at https://datatracker.ietf.org/public/ipr_disclosure.cgi.

The idea being that, if you want to use code from
an RFC, you should be able to determine whether the
Contributor claims patent rights in it.  If there
is no disclosure of patent rights, then it would not
be unreasonable to assume that the Contributor does
NOT have such patent rights.  However, this says nothing
about whether or not third parties may have patent
rights that are relevant and need to be licensed.

_______________________________________________
Ipr-wg mailing list
Ipr-wg at ietf.org
https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ipr-wg