PKCS Contribution Agreement Burt Kaliski RSA Laboratories PKCS

PKCS Contribution Agreement Burt Kaliski, RSA Laboratories PKCS Workshop, 28 September 1999

Overview • New agreement covering contributions to PKCS process • A milestone in this “informal, intervendor” standards process • Motivated by Matt Wood’s PKCS #11 v 2. 1 contribution – thanks to Intel, RSA Security’s attorneys • (Available from the PKCS Web page)

What’s a Contribution? • Formal submission of document for consideration in the PKCS process – “proposed amendment” or “proposed specification” (i. e. , “standard”) – N. B. : there is no formal PKCS process yet : -) • Mailing list discussions, comments on documents, etc. excluded

Outline of Agreement • Contribution outline • Intellectual property requirements • Decision-making authority

Contribution Outline • Title • Abstract • Classification • Description – amendment or specification • Contributor • Date/Version • Discussion • IP Issues • References

IP Requirements • Goals: openness, access • Aspects: – – consent and copyright patent and trademark identification licensing policy additional input • (RSA Laboratories will adhere to these as well)

Consent and Copyright • “Contributor agrees to the guidelines for PKCS contributions …” • “… grants RSA Laboratories license to make derivative works … [and] to include … in PKCS documents”

Patent and Trademark Identification • “… include text identifying any patents, patent application, trademarks or trademark applications owned by or exclusively licensed to Contributor that may apply to the Contribution” • See recent PKCS documents for examples • No representations required about third-party IP

Licensing Policy • (Derived from IEEE standards policy) • Three options: – “… will not enforce …” – “… without compensation” – “reasonable” and non-discriminatory

Additional Input • “RSA Laboratories may solicit additional input from other parties on potential patent and trademark coverage” – a regular part of review of drafts • but “… does not warrant the correctness of completeness of such information”

Decision-Making Authority • “RSA Laboratories may reject a Contribution not meeting these requirements …” • “… shall have sole decision-making authority on whether to include a Contribution … in PKCS documents” • but “will rely on review and advice of … security researchers and developers”

Contributions to Date • Matthew Wood (Intel): PKCS #11 v 2. 1 drafts (“proposed amendments”) • Others welcome!