IPR Details
WHAT3WORDS Ltd's Statement about IPR related to draft-saywhere-geocoding and This disclosure is made in good faith as a third-party notification. The submitter is not affil...

Update this IPR disclosure
Submitted: October 19, 2025 under the rules in RFC 8179.

Note: Updates to IPR disclosures must only be made by authorized representatives of the original submitters. Updates will automatically be forwarded to the current Patent Holder's Contact and to the Submitter of the original IPR disclosure.

I. Patent Holder/Applicant ("Patent Holder")

Holder legal name WHAT3WORDS Ltd

II. Patent Holder's Contact for License Application
Holder contact name What3Words Limited
Holder contact email contact@what3words.com
Holder contact info

What3Words Limited
4th Floor
41-42 Foley Street
London, W1W 7TS
United Kingdom

III. Contact Information for the IETF Participant Whose Personal Belief Triggered this Disclosure

Name Hugo O'Connor
Email hugo@anuna.io
Other info

Anuna Research Pty Ltd
Australia

IV. IETF Document or Other Contribution to Which this IPR Disclosure Relates

Internet-Draft:
draft-saywhere-geocoding ("SayWhere Geocoding System: Human-Memorable Geographic Coordinates")
Revisions:
00-01
Sections:
The disclosed patent relates to word-based geocoding systems generally. The SayWhere specification describes a technically distinct approach using hierarchical variable-length encoding based on geohash (2008) and BIP-39 (2013) prior art. However, implementors should be aware of this patent in the word-based geocoding space. Specifically, SayWhere differs from the disclosed patent in: - Use of geohash spatial indexing (prior art from 2008) - Variable-length phrases (1-6+ words) vs. fixed 3-word phrases - Hierarchical prefix relationships vs. shuffling-based distribution - Direct chunk-to-word mapping vs. cell decomposition (X,Y,x,y → n → m → i,j,k) - No attractiveness rating or error magnification features

V. Disclosure of Patent Information
i.e., patents or patent applications required to be disclosed by RFC 8179

A. For granted patents or published pending patent applications, please provide the following information:

Patent, Serial, Publication, Registration, or Application/File number(s)

Number: CA2909524A1
Inventor: Chris Sheldrick, Mohan Ganesalingam, Jack Waley-Cohen
Title: Method and apparatus for identifying and communicating locations
Date: 2014-04-10
Notes: This is the Canadian patent application. Related patent family members include:
- WO2014/170646 (PCT application)
- GB1307148.5 (UK application, filed 2013-04-19)
- US equivalents may exist

The patent claims a method for converting geographic coordinates to
three-word phrases using cell decomposition, shuffling algorithms,
and attractiveness ratings.

This disclosure is made for informational purposes to assist IETF
participants in understanding the patent landscape for word-based
geocoding systems. The submitter believes the SayWhere specification
describes a technically distinct approach, but implementors should
conduct their own patent analysis.

B. Does this disclosure relate to an unpublished pending patent application?:

Has patent pending No

VI. Licensing Declaration

The Patent Holder states that its position with respect to licensing any patent claims contained in the patent(s) or patent application(s) disclosed above that would necessarily be infringed by implementation of the technology required by the relevant IETF specification ("Necessary Patent Claims"), for the purpose of implementing such specification, is as follows(select one licensing declaration option only):

Licensing Unwilling to Commit to the Provisions of a), b), or c) Above
Licensing information, comments, notes, or URL for further information

Note: This selection is made because the submitter is not the patent holder and has no knowledge of
the patent holder's licensing intentions. What3Words Limited must provide their own licensing
declaration.

Licensing information, comments, notes, or URL for further information:
The submitter is not authorized to make licensing commitments on behalf
of What3Words Limited.

The patent holder should be contacted directly for licensing information:
- Website: https://what3words.com
- Contact: contact@what3words.com

This third-party disclosure is made pursuant to RFC 8179 Section 5.5
to inform the IETF community of potentially relevant IPR. The IETF
Secretariat is requested to forward this disclosure to What3Words
Limited and request they provide their own licensing declaration.

☐ The individual submitting this template represents and warrants that all terms and conditions that
must be satisfied for implementers of any covered IETF specification to obtain a license have been
disclosed in this IPR disclosure statement

Note: This checkbox cannot be checked for third-party disclosures where licensing terms are unknown.

Note: The individual submitting this template represents and warrants that he or she is authorized by the Patent Holder to agree to the above-selected licensing declaration.

VII. Contact Information of Submitter of this Form

Submitter name What3Words Limited
Submitter email contact@what3words.com

VIII. Other Notes

Additional notes

THIRD-PARTY DISCLOSURE NOTICE

This disclosure is submitted by an IETF participant who is not affiliated
with the patent holder. The submitter became aware of this patent while
developing the SayWhere specification and believes the IETF community
should be informed of its existence in the word-based geocoding space.

The submitter has analyzed the patent claims and believes the SayWhere
specification describes a technically distinct approach that does not
infringe the disclosed patent due to:

1. Use of established prior art (geohash 2008, BIP-39 2013)
2. Fundamentally different technical architecture (hierarchical
variable-length vs. fixed-length with shuffling)
3. Different algorithmic approach (direct geohash-to-word mapping
vs. cell decomposition with n→m transformation)

However, the submitter makes no legal determination regarding patent
validity, enforceability, or infringement. Implementors are encouraged
to conduct their own patent analysis and consult legal counsel.

The IETF Secretariat is respectfully requested to forward this
disclosure to What3Words Limited and request they provide their own
licensing declaration pursuant to RFC 8179.

For technical distinctions between SayWhere and the disclosed patent,
please see Section "Intellectual Property Considerations" in
draft-saywhere-geocoding-00.

Only those sections of the relevant entry form where the submitter provided information are displayed above.