1. pre8prob BOF Background
March 24, 2009
IETF 74 (San Francisco)
Jorge Contreras

2. IETF Copyright Policy Evolution
Mar – RFC 1310
Mar – RFC 1602
Oct – RFC 2026
Mar – RFC 3978 (BCP 78)
Oct – RFC 4748 (updates RFC 3978 re Trust)
Nov – RFC 5378
+ Trust Legal Provisions
WilmerHale

3. What is the IETF Trust?
Independent legal entity formed in 2005 to hold IETF-related IPR
Trademarks
Domain names
Records
Copyrights in IETF Documents
NOT patents
RFC 5378 causes “inbound” grant of rights from Contributors to Trust
Trust Legal Provisions (TLP) grants rights from Trust to IETF Community and, if authorized, to others
WilmerHale

4. What did RFC 5378 do?
Clarified the rights that were always “assumed” to exist (e.g., unrestricted distribution of IETF Documents)
BSD licensing of Code Components (open source compatible)
Removal of most boilerplate from IETF Documents, with pointer to TLP
Clarification of IETF copyright in “combination” works (RFCs)
Establish Trust as IETF license “clearing house”
Enabled Trust to grant “derivative” rights outside the IETF Standards Process
WilmerHale

5. Rights Granted under 5378/TLP
Applies to IETF Documents and Contributions
Trust grants right to
Copy and translate unmodified documents for any purpose (from 3978, but clarified)
Extract unmodified portions for any purpose, such as documentation (from 3978, but clarified)
Make derivatives within IETF Standards Process (from 3978)
Unless excluded by a legend (e.g., informational material)
Trust can grant the right to modify outside the IETF Standards Process (e.g., to hand over a standard to another SDO for evolution/modification) (new, but rare – not yet granted by Trust)
WilmerHale

6. The 5378 “bug” First “incoming rights” I-D published Mar. 1, 2007
RFC 5378 became effective on Nov. 10, 2008
At the IETF 73 Plenary session on Nov. 19, 2008, Sam Hartman pointed out the following:
Post-5378 IETF Contributions may contain material from pre-5378 IETF Documents and Contributions
Yet the licenses granted by pre-5378 Contributors in their Contributions are less than the rights granted under 5378
5378 requires Contributors to warrant that they are giving the Trust all rights required by 5378
Contributors would be making a false statement if they said that they gave full 5378 rights with respect to pre-5378 material
WilmerHale

7. The IETF Trust’s Work-around
Revised TLP effective Feb. 15, 2009
If an IETF Contribution contains pre-5378 material, the Contributor may include a new legend in the Contribution
This legend warns readers that pre-5378 material is included and full 5378 rights may not be granted for this pre-5378 material
If the legend is present, the Trust agrees that it will not attempt to license this pre-5378 material for modification outside the IETF Standards Process without obtaining licenses from all persons controlling the copyrights
WilmerHale

8. Developing a Permanent Solution
That’s the purpose of this BOF!
WilmerHale