Subject: [TLS] Call for volunteers to discuss IETF patent policy with Richard Stallman

From: [email-masked] (Noel Chiappa)
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:23:36 -0500 (EST)

Hi all, while discussing the whole TLS-AUTHZ situation with Richard Stallman
of the FSF, he asked me to put him in touch with a couple of IETFers who are
interested in trying to get the IETF to commit to staying further away from
patent encumbrances in standards (distinctly patents, as opposed to other
forms of IPR).

I told him that I would try and rustle up some people, but that I thought it
better to find some people on both sides for him to interact with, because I
was concerned that if he only interacted with one side, he might get too
hopeful a view of the likelihood of success for an attempt to change IETF
policy in this area.

He agreed that this would be good, since such an effort would involve a lot
of effort, and he would only want to undertake it if it had a significant
chance of success, and he did want to get a realistic appraisal of how things
stood.

So, if anyone wants to volunteer to interact with him on this matter, his
email is "rms -at- gnu.org" (and this is CC'd to him), and please contact him.

Sorry to the TLS members for the BCC to them too (if any of them are
wondering how this got to them :-), if it's out of your scope, but given that
TLS-AUTHZ was the cause of all this, I thought there might be some there who
aren't on the IPR mailing list who might be interested to responding to him.

Please also note that I am just _relaying_ this request, I am not myself
directly deeply interested in whether the IETF has, or has not, a strong
prohibition on patents; I am not receiving email from either list, and
propose to take no further part in any of this. So if you want me to see any
particular reply, for some reason, please make sure you CC me directly.

Thanks!

	Noel