Network Working Group S. Bradner
Internet-Draft Harvard University
Editor
February 2006
RFC 3978 Update
<draft-ietf-ipr-rules-update-04.txt>
Status of this Memo
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Abstract
This document modifies RFC 3978 "IETF Rights in Contributions" as
follows: (1) recognizing that the IETF Trust is now the proper
custodian of all IETF-related intellectual property rights, (2)
giving IETF Trust the right to permit extraction of material from
RFCs, and (3) giving IETF Trust the right to permit others to create
derivative works outside the IETF Standards Process.
This document does not constrain how the IETF Trust exercises those
rights.
Copyright Notice
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Copyright (C) The Internet Society. (2006)
1. Introduction
1.1 IETF Trust
Currently the IETF requires that authors of Contributions to the IETF
grant to the IETF (meaning the full set of participants in the IETF
Standards Process) a limited set of non-exclusive rights and
permissions as part of the process of submitting such Contribution.
These rights and permissions are detailed in "IETF Rights in
Contributions" (RFC 3978 - BCP 78) [RFC3978].
The IETF Trust was recently formed to act as the administrative
custodian of all copyrights and other intellectual property rights
relating to the IETF Standards Process that had previously been held
by ISOC (See [reference to IETF Trust Agreement]). This document
modifies RFC 3978 in order to implement this structure. Most
importantly, it alters the license-grant path as follows: whereas
previously authors of Contributions to the IETF would grant a license
both to ISOC and to all IETF participants, it is now proposed that
such authors grant a license to the IETF Trust (in Section 3.3), and
that the IETF Trust concurrently grant the necessary corresponding
licenses to all IETF participants (in a new Section 3.7).
In addition, under new Section 3.7 the IETF Trust will be able to
grant rights to third parties (such as the right to reproduce and/or
create derivative works outside of the IETF Standards Process). This
right may be constrained in future RFCs, and this memo is not
intended to dictate how or when the IETF Trust may grant licenses to
third parties. It merely obtains the necessary "inbound" rights from
the relevant Contributors.
1.2. Extractions from RFCs
Many people have expressed a desire to extract material from IETF
RFCs for use in documentation, textbooks, on-line help systems, and
for similar uses. In addition, some IETF RFCs contain MIBs and other
types of program code that could be compiled. The IETF Trust should
update Section 3.3(a)(E) of RFC 3978 (now renumbered 3.3(E)) to at
least explicitly permit extracting material, without modification of
the text or figures, for such uses. Non-substantive changes such as
changes to fonts, and translations into languages other than English
would be permitted.
1.3 Right to reprint RFCs
Since the start of the RFC series, third parties have been free to
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reproduce RFCs as-is or as translations. The permission to do so was
not specifically noted in early RFCs (other than a note to say that
the distribution of the RFC was unlimited). The copyright notice
introduced with RFC 1602 specifically granted these permissions. But
an unintended byproduct of the attempt in BCP 78 to simplify the
copyright statement in published RFCs was the lack of any specific
statement of these permissions in the RFC copyright notice or in BCP
78. The IETF Trust should add a new Section 3.3(F) to RFC 3978 to
clarify that the Contributor permits the IETF Trust to grant this
right to third parties, and also add the IETF Trust's grant of such
license as to both the rights granted by each Contributor and the
rights in the collection that are possessed by IETF Trust itself.
This latter grant was previously implied through the copyright legend
material included in RFC documents, but was not expressed as a
license grant as it now is.
1.4 Derivative Works
Currently the IETF obtains from Contributors the right to prepare
derivative works of their Contributions within the IETF Standards
Process. This is done in RFC 3978 Section 3.3 (a) (C). The IETF
Trust should modify that paragraph in Section 3.7 to grant the IETF
Trust the ability to authorize the preparation of derivative works
without limiting such development to the IETF Standards Process.
Such a paragraph would not, by itself, grant any additional
permissions outside of the IETF, but would empower the IETF Trust to
authorize the development of derivative works outside of the IETF
Standards Process. One example of where the IETF Trust might grant
such a right is the case where another standards development
organization (SDO) wants to update or extend an IETF technology
(which would normally be done by the SDO sending their requirements
to the IETF) but the IETF no longer has a working group focused on
the particular technology and the IETF does not have the interest to
create a new working group.
1.5 No Retroactive Effect
The addition of these rights to those granted by Contributors under
RFC 3978 starts with the publication of this memo as a RFC. This
memo does not retroactively obtain these rights from Contributions
that predate the publication of this memo as a RFC. Accordingly, the
legends and other text accompanying this memo still reflect the
provisions of RFC 3978, even though those provisions will be amended
once this memo is published as an RFC. However, nothing prevents the
Contributors of such Contributions voluntarily granting these rights
retroactively.
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2. General Statements
2.1 In order to clarify that Contributors are bound by all provisions
of RFC 3978 upon submission of a Contribution to the IETF, the
following paragraph is moved from Section 3.3 to the end of Section
3.1, with clarifying adjustments:
"By submission of a Contribution, each person actually submitting
the Contribution, and each named co-Contributor, is deemed to
agree to the terms and conditions set forth in this document, on
his or her own behalf and on behalf of the organization the
Contributor represents or is sponsored by (if any), when
submitting the Contribution."
2.2 Because it is necessary in this document to refer to individual
IETF participants, the following sentence is added at the end of the
definition of "IETF" in Section 1(a) of RFC 3978:
"An "IETF Participant" shall mean any such individual
participant."
3. Rights Granted By Contributors to IETF Trust - New Section 3.3
The following text describes the rights that are granted by each
Contributor to the IETF Trust and replaces Section 3.3 of RFC 3978 in
full:
"3.3. Rights Granted by Contributors to IETF Trust
To the extent that a Contribution or any portion thereof is
protected by copyright or other rights of authorship, the
Contributor, and each named co-Contributor, and the organization
he or she represents or is sponsored by (if any) grant a
perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide
right and license to the IETF Trust under all such copyrights and
other rights in the Contribution, with the understanding that the
IETF Trust shall have the right to sublicense these rights to the
extent described in Section 3.7 below:
(A) to copy, print, publish, display, and distribute the
Contribution as part of the IETF Standards Process or in an
Internet-Draft,
(B) to prepare or allow the preparation of translations of the
Contribution into languages other than English,
(C) unless explicitly disallowed in the notices contained in a
Contribution [as per Section 5.2 below],
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(1) to modify or prepare derivative works (in addition to
translations) that are based on or incorporate all or part
of the Contribution or comment upon it, within the IETF
Standards Process, and
(2) as determined by the IETF Trust, to grant third parties the
right to modify or prepare derivative works of the
Contribution outside of the IETF Standards Process, and to
copy, publish, display and distribute such modifications or
derivative works outside the IETF Standards Process, subject
to a requirement to properly acknowledge the IETF (it being
understood that neither consent of, nor notice to, the
Contributor shall be required for any such grant),
provided that in each case the license to such modification or
derivative works does not grant any more rights than the
license to the original Contribution, and
(D) to reproduce any trademarks, service marks or trade names
which are included in the Contribution solely in connection
with the reproduction, distribution or publication of the
Contribution and derivative works thereof as permitted by this
Section 3.3, provided that when reproducing Contributions,
trademark and service mark identifiers used in the
Contribution, including (TM) and (R) will be preserved, and
(E) to extract, copy, print, publish, display, distribute and
incorporate into other works, for any purpose (and not limited
to use within the IETF Standards Process), any portion of the
Contribution without modification (other than non-substantive
modifications such as reformatting, translation into languages
other than English or compilation of source code statements
into executable code), and further provided that the notices
required by Sections 5.4 or 5.6 below, as applicable, are
included, and
(F) to permit third parties to copy, publish, display and
distribute the Contribution without modification, as part of a
full, unmodified RFC and to permit third parties to translate
the Contribution as part of a full, unmodified RFC into
languages other than English, for any purpose, whether or not
within the IETF Standards Process.
The licenses granted in this Section 3.3 shall not be deemed to
grant any right under any patent, patent application or other
similar intellectual property right disclosed by the
Contributor under BCP 79.
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4. Rights Granted By IETF Trust to IETF Participants - Possible new
Section 3.7
Now that Contributors are granting rights to the IETF Trust, the IETF
Trust will have to state what rights are being granted to IETF
Participants. Accordingly, the IETF should add text no more
restrictive than the following Section 3.7. Such a section woukd
simply repeat the license grants from Section 3.3 that are intended
to be granted to all IETF Participants. Additional rights described
in Section 3.3 could also be granted by the IETF Trust pursuant to
separate documents.
"3.7 Rights granted by IETF Trust to IETF Participants
The IETF Trust hereby grants to each IETF Participant, to the
greatest extent it is permitted to do so, the following perpetual,
irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide rights and
licenses under all copyrights and other rights of authors:
(A) to copy, publish, display, and distribute each IETF Document
(including all Contributions and other portion thereof) as part
of the IETF Standards Process, in an Internet-Draft or
otherwise,
(B) to prepare translations of IETF Documents (including all
Contributions and other portion thereof) into languages other
than English,
(C) unless explicitly disallowed in the notices contained in a
Contribution [as per Section 5.2 below], to modify or prepare
derivative works (in addition to translations) that are based
on or incorporate all or part of the Contribution or comment
upon it, within the IETF Standards Process, provided that in
each case the license to such modification or derivative works
does not grant any more rights than the license granted to the
IETF Trust in the original Contribution, and
(D) to reproduce any trademarks, service marks or trade names
which are included in a Contribution solely in connection with
the reproduction, distribution or publication of the
Contribution and derivative works thereof as permitted by this
Section 3.7, provided that when reproducing Contributions,
trademark and service mark identifiers used in the
Contribution, including (TM) and (R) will be preserved.
The licenses granted in this Section 3.7 shall not be deemed
to grant any right under any patent, patent application or other
similar intellectual property right disclosed by the Contributor
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under BCP 79.
5. Rights Granted By IETF Trust to Third Parties - Possible New
Section 3.8
Under the licenses granted by Contributors in Section 3.3, the IETF
Trust has the ability to grant rights in Contributions and other
portions of IETF Documents to third parties for use outside the IETF
Standards Process. One such right is the right to copy and
republish IETF Documents without modification. This right is
automatically granted to all persons pursuant to new Section
3.8(A)(1) below. Other rights may be granted by the IETF Trust in
its discretion. Rules about the exercise of this discretion may be
implemented at a later date, and do not form part of this document.
"3.8 Rights Granted by the IETF Trust to Third Parties
(A) The IETF Trust hereby grants to any person wishing to obtain
such rights, to the greatest extent it is permitted to do so,
the following perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-
free, world-wide rights and licenses under all copyrights and
other rights of authors:
(1) to extract, copy, publish, display, distribute and
incorporate into other works, for any purpose (and not
limited to use within the IETF Standards Process), all or
any portion of any IETF Document (including all
Contributions and other portions thereof) without
modification (other than non-substantive modifications such
as reformatting, translation into languages other than
English or compilation of source code statements into
executable code), and further provided that the notices
required by Sections 5.4 or 5.6 below, as applicable, are
included.
(B) The IETF Trust may, in its discretion, grant additional right
to third parties to the extent that its licenses under Section
3.3 permit it to do so. Until specific procedures for the
exercise of such discretion are published in an RFC, the IETF
Trust shall consult with the IESG prior to granting any such
rights.
6. Legends and Notifications
The legends and notifications required by RFC 3978 are hereby updated
as set forth below to reflect the other provisions of this document.
6.1 The first paragraph of Section 5 of RFC 3978 explains the
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requirement for applying certain notices and legends to IETF
documents. There has been considerable confusion in the past
regarding the meaning of the copyright notice on these documents.
Accordingly, the first paragraph of Section 5 is hereby amended as
follows to explain the purpose and meaning of this copyright notice
requirement, as well as to substitute "IETF Trust" for "ISOC":
"The IETF requires that certain notices and disclaimers described
in this Section 5 be reproduced verbatim in all IETF Documents
(including copies, derivative works and translations of IETF
Documents, but subject to the limited exceptions noted in Section
5.2). This requirement protects the IETF Trust, IETF and IETF
Participants from liabilities connected with these documents.
The copyright notice also alerts readers that the document is an
IETF Document, and that the IETF Trust owns the copyright in the
"collective work", as well as certain aspects of the document,
such as its layout, the RFC numbering convention and the prefatory
language of the document. This legend is not, however, intended
to imply that IETF or the IETF Trust owns the text of any
Contribution included in an IETF Document. Rather, ownership of
such Contributions is retained by the author(s) or remains in the
public domain, as applicable, subject only to the licenses granted
to IETF and the IETF Trust under Section 3.3 above."
6.2 Update copyright statement and clarify text about additional
copyright statements
The creation of the IETF Trust to hold IETF-related IPR requires that
the copyright statement in Section 5.4 be changed. Since it has been
established practice to include a one-line copyright statement near
the beginning of IETF Documents this should be mentioned.
The text in Section 5.4 about multiple copyright statements has
occasionally been misinterpreted so should be clarified.
6.2.1 Revised Section 5.4
5.4. Copyright Notices (required for all IETF Documents)
(Normally placed near the beginning of the IETF Documents)
"Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (year).
(Normally placed at the end of the IETF Document.)
"Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (year).
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This document is subject to the rights, licenses and
restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth
therein, the authors retain all their rights."
Only copyright notices for the IETF Trust are permitted in IETF
Documents except in the case where such a document is the product
of a joint development effort between the IETF and another
standards development organization or the document is a
republication of the work of another standards organization. Such
exceptions must be approved on an individual basis by the IAB.
6.3 In Section 5.6 of RFC 3978, all occurrences of "Internet Society"
or "ISOC" are replaced by "IETF Trust".
to reduce confusion the note about multiple copyright notices
6.4 In Section 5.5 of RFC 3978, ", THE IETF TRUST" is inserted after
"INTERNET SOCIETY".
7. Errata
7.1 The two sentences of Section 4.2(a)(C) are combined into a single
sentence separated by a comma.
7.2 In Section 7.1, all occurrences of "Internet Society" or "ISOC" are
replaced by "IETF Trust".
7.3 The section reference at the end of the first paragraph of Section
7.3 is changed from 3.3(E) to 3.3(C).
7.4. In Section 8, ", the IETF Trust" is inserted after "ISOC".
8. References
8.1. Normative References
[RFC 3978] Bradner, S., Ed., "IETF Rights in Contributions", BCP 78,
RFC 3978, March 2005.
[BCP 101] Austein, R., and B. Wijnen, "Structure of the IETF
Administrative Support Activity (IASA)," BCP 101, RFC 4071, April
2005.
[IETF Trust Agreement?]
9. Acknowledgements
Thanks to Jorge Contreras from Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and
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Dorr LLP who provided a significant rewrite of my material.
10. Editor's Address
Scott Bradner
Harvard University
29 Oxford St.
Cambridge MA, 02138
Phone: +1 617 495 3864
EMail: sob@harvard.edu
11. Full copyright statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006). This document is subject
to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and
except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights.
This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
"AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS
OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Intellectual Property
The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to
pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has
made any independent effort to identify any such rights. Information
on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be
found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.
Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
http://www.ietf.org/ipr. The IETF invites any interested party to
bring to its attention any copyrights, patents or patent
applications, or other proprietary rights that may cover technology
that may be required to implement this standard. Please address the
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information to the IETF at ietf-ipr@ietf.org.
Acknowledgement
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
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