A Grant of Rights to Use a Specific IBM patent with Photuris
A public record of IBM's patent license for key management
Lowe, J., "A Grant of Rights to Use a Specific IBM patent with Photuris", RFC 1822, DOI 10.17487/RFC1822, August 1995, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1822>.
@misc{rfc1822,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 1822,
howpublished = {RFC 1822},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC1822},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1822},
author = {J. Lowe},
title = {{A Grant of Rights to Use a Specific IBM patent with Photuris}},
pagetotal = 2,
year = 1995,
month = aug,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group J. Lowe
Request for Comments: 1822 IBM
Category: Informational August 1995
A Grant of Rights to Use a Specific IBM patent with Photuris
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo
does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
this memo is unlimited.
Note:
This RFC is NOT a standard. It is an official public record of a
grant by IBM Corporation for the use of a specific IBM patent in
conjunction with the Photuris key management protocol.
Purpose
This Request for Comments records a grant by IBM Corporation to
permit the conditional free use of one of its patents. This grant is
made to help facilitate adoption of the Internet Key Management
Protocol contribution IBM has offered to the IETF. It should be noted
that the confirmatory license mentioned is optional. The grant is
made in this RFC and parties have it even if they do not request a
confirmation from IBM.
A Grant of Rights to Use IBM US Patent 5,148,479
IBM hereby covenants that it will not assert its US Patent 5,148,479
or its non-US counterparts against any party that implements Photuris
or any derivative that includes IBM's IKMP contribution, and operates
in compliance with Photuris or such derivative, when Photuris or such
derivative is employed in connection with any Internet Protocol.
This grant of rights will terminate with respect to any party that
asserts a patent it owns, directly or indirectly, against IBM for
IBM's implementation of and operation in compliance with Photuris or
any derivative, as defined above. The termination will occur as of
the date the patent is asserted against IBM.
A written confirmation of this grant, and/or a license under any
other IBM patent under IBM's then-current terms, conditions and
royalty rates, can be obtained by sending a request to:
John W. Lowe
IBM Corporation
500 Columbus Avenue
Thornwood, New York 10594
Security Considerations
The referenced protocol is a security-related protocol.
Author's Address
John W. Lowe
IBM Corporation
500 Columbus Avenue
Thornwood, New York 10594
USA
AI ELI5
On this page
§1What This Document Is
RFC 1822 is not a technical specification; it is a legal notice. It records a public grant from IBM Corporation, allowing anyone to use IBM U.S. Patent 5,148,479 without paying royalties, provided they implement the Photuris key management protocol and comply with its terms.
The purpose is to remove a patent obstacle to Internet adoption of Photuris, which IBM had contributed to the IETF as a key negotiation method.
IBM wrote down that anyone could use one of its inventions for free, as long as they use it the right way.
§2The Grant and Its Conditions
IBM covenants not to assert patent 5,148,479 against anyone who implements Photuris or a derivative that includes IBM's contribution and operates in compliance with the protocol. This applies to Photuris over any Internet Protocol.
The grant has one termination clause: it ceases for any party that asserts a patent of its own (directly or indirectly) against IBM for IBM's implementation of Photuris. The termination date is when that patent assertion occurs.
A written license confirmation from IBM is optional; the grant itself, published in this RFC, constitutes the permission.
IBM promises: use our invention for free as long as you use it right and don't sue us about it.
§3Status Today
Photuris was an early proposal for Internet key management. This patent grant was important in 1995 for lowering legal barriers to its adoption. Later, other key management protocols like IKE became standard. The patent-licensing landscape around encryption has evolved significantly since 1995.
For historical context, this RFC documents IBM's early contribution to the IETF and the free-license model for foundational Internet protocols.
This note showed that big companies could help the Internet grow by agreeing not to charge money for their inventions.