HP Patent Grant: Conditional Grant of Rights to Specific Hewlett-Packard Patents In Conjunction With the Internet Engineering Task Force's Internet-Standard Network Management Framework

Network Working Group                                        G. McAnally
Request for Comments: 1988                                    D. Gilbert
Category: Informational                                         J. Flick
                                                 Hewlett Packard Company
                                                             August 1996


    Conditional Grant of Rights to Specific Hewlett-Packard Patents
       In Conjunction With the Internet Engineering Task Force's
             Internet-Standard Network Management Framework

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 document is NOT a standard.  It is an announcement to interested
   parties of a conditional grant by the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) of
   certain rights to use autotopology network management technology
   covered by specific HP patents in conjunction with the Internet
   Engineering Task Force's (IETF's) Internet-standard network
   management framework.

Purpose

   This grant is made to help facilitate inclusion of certain patented
   search address technology covering network device mapping in IETF
   standards-track Management Information Base (MIB) modules.  HP is
   offering this search address technology to the IETF as a technique
   for mapping network devices.  It should be noted that the
   confirmatory license mentioned is optional, since the grant of rights
   is automatic.

A Grant of Rights to Hewlett-Packard US Patents 5,293,635 and 5,421,024

   HP hereby covenants that it will not assert any claims in US Patents
   5,293,635, 5,421,024, any continuations, divisions, or
   continuations-in-part of either, or any non-US counterparts of any of
   the foregoing against any party that makes, uses, sells, imports, or
   offers for sale, an implementation of an IETF standards-track MIB
   module that includes HP's contributed search address technology, or
   any derivative of that contribution, provided that the MIB module is
   employed to implement the Internet-standard network management
   framework.  Such grant of rights is limited in that it does not
   include a right to incorporate such HP search address technology into
   proprietary MIB modules.

   This grant of rights will permanently terminate with respect to any
   party (and to any subsidiary of a party) that asserts a patent it
   owns or controls, either directly or indirectly, against HP or any of
   its subsidiaries for implementation of, or operation of any system
   utilizing, search address technology.  The termination of rights will
   occur as of the date the patent is asserted against HP.

   A written confirmation of this grant, and/or a license under any
   other HP patent under HP's then-current terms, conditions, and
   royalty rates, can be obtained by sending a request to:

           Patent Counsel
           Hewlett-Packard Company
           3000 Hanover Street
           Palo Alto, CA 94304
           USA

Security Considerations

   Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

Authors' Addresses

   Gary McAnally
   Hewlett-Packard Company
   8000 Foothills Blvd.
   Roseville, CA 95747
   USA


   Douglas Gilbert
   Hewlett-Packard Company
   3000 Hanover Street
   Palo Alto, CA 94304
   USA


   John Flick
   Hewlett-Packard Company
   8000 Foothills Blvd. M.S. 5556
   Roseville, CA 95747-5556
   USA

   Phone: (916) 785-4018
   EMail: johnf@hprnd.rose.hp.com