[ebxml-cppa] IP statement from IBM

["Karl F. Best" <karl.best@oasis-open.org>]

CPPA TC:

I received yesterday afternoon the attached statement from IBM regarding
their IP claims to the work of the TC. In my opinion this addresses most
of the concerns and questions raised since the release of their
licensing policy a few weeks ago. I hope that this will resolve issues
that some of you may have that might prevent you from voting in favour
of the specification.

Patrick Gannon, the OASIS CEO, asked me to pass on the following
statement:

"The following statement form IBM dated May 30, 2002, clarifies many of
the concerns that have been raised by members of the CPPA TC and other
organizations planning to implement the CPPA specification.  IBM has
clarified two major issues related to (1) the reciprocity of licensing
any patent claims from other parties, and (2) granting their
royalty-free license to the currently published v1 & v2 specs with a
commitment to extend the royalty-free license to future versions of the
specs should such future version of the CPPA specs be delivered.

This statement, taken together with the previous statements from IBM and
their license agreement, means that the OASIS ebXML CPPA Committee
Specification along with all other ebXML specifications remains
ROYALTY-FREE.  If the OASIS CPPA TC members believe that the CPPA
specification is ready to be submitted to the OASIS Standard process,
then I recommend that the TC members vote in favor of recommending this
specification be adopted as an OASIS Committee Specification.  It is
through the OASIS open process and our cooperation with the UN/CEFACT
and their representatives from governments and associations around the
world that we will achieve consensus and market-force will to keep the
family of ebXML specifications available for royalty-free
implementation."


The IBM statement is below.

</karl>
=================================================================
Karl F. Best
OASIS - Director, Technical Operations
+1 978.667.5115 x206
karl.best@oasis-open.org  http://www.oasis-open.org


---------------------------------------------------
To ebXML "Collaboration Protocol Profile and Agreement" interested
parties:

Recently,  questions have arisen, indicating potential misunderstandings
about  IBM's recent patent disclosure and license offer.  The following
responses are offered to address these questions.

Q)  Why is IBM disclosing patents and offering a license?

A) The ebXML effort operates under the OASIS intellectual property
rules. According to these rules, IBM provided the CPPA related patent
disclosures and the supporting licensing information. It was an IBM
business decision to provide this license with royalty-free terms.

Q)  Is the IBM license "free for all time"?

A)   YES.  Patents are granted and remain enforceable until they are
either abandoned or until  20 years from the original application date.
The license granted by IBM, for the CPPA specifications,  is for the
full relevant patent term or for as long as required to implement the
specifications, whichever occurs first.

Q)  Is the license only provided to those entities holding patents and
thus able to reciprocate?

A)  NO. You do not have to be a holder of a patent or patent application
to receive this royalty free license.  The license is available to any
entity desiring to implement the specifications.  The reciprocity term
requires an entity, currently holding or subsequently obtaining
essential patents or applications,  to agree to license those patents
and applications to IBM under the same terms and conditions, thus the
term "reciprocal."

Q)  Why did IBM provide a license to ALL patents required by the
specifications?

A)  IBM wanted to remove any potential confusion regarding
implementation of the specification.  Since a complete patent search and
analysis of a large portfolio is very time consuming, IBM wanted to
provide the assurance
that our portfolio would not impede adoption of the specifications.

Q) Why did IBM limit the patent license to V1 and V2 of the
specification?

A) IBM commits to continue to provide a royalty free license to the
already identified patents for future versions of these CPPA
specifications. Beyond that, it is not possible to know in advance the
full scope and details of
future specifications or OASIS patent policies.  Neither IBM nor anyone
else can commit to much else at this time. Given IBM's clear statements
about the importance of OASIS in the global standardization process, IBM
will continue to evaluate specifications and policies as they evolve and
/ or develop.

Submitted by Chuck Adams, IBM.