Re: [ubl] Patents

[jon.bosak@sun.com]

[mark.crawford@sap.com:]

| Re the patent issue in UN/CEFACT, it is important to note that
| UN/CEFACT has a well thought out IPR policy that fully protects
| the users of its specifications.  The following email from the TMG
| chair provides several references that can help interested parties
| understand those protections.

I think we can all agree that the UN/CEFACT IPR policy is a good
thing, but that is not what is at issue here.

The relevant question is, "What are SAP's intentions with regard
to patents requested and/or issued prior to the adoption of the
UN/CEFACT IPR Policy, and in particular, what are SAP's intentions
with regards to the application of those patents in the OASIS
context?"

We need assurance from SAP that the current UN/CEFACT IPR policy
applies to all the "inventions" that SAP created by patenting the
work of the technical experts in UN/CEFACT and UBL.  With regard
to UBL, the best way to do this would be to issue a non-assertion
covenant like the one that Sun Microsystems posted a year ago:

   http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/ipr.php

Jon