Subject: interesting quote from today's rambus decision

From: Scott Bradner <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 15:59:25 -0500 (EST)

a federal appeals court rules in a Rambus-related case today
(see http://www.ebnonline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6406508)

here is an interesting quote from that decision - one that we
should strive to not have made about the IETF rules at some time
in teh future

Scott

-------------
"In this case there is a staggering lack of defining details in the        
EIA/JEDEC patent policy.  When direct competitors participate in an open   
standards committee, their work necessitates a written patent policy with  
clear guidance on the committee's intellectual property         
position.  A policy that does not define clearly what, when, how, and to   
whom the members must disclose does not provide a firm basis for the       
disclosure duty necessary for a fraud verdict.  Without a clear policy,    
members form vaguely defined expectations as to what they believe the      
policy requires -- whether the policy in fact so requires or not.   JEDEC  
could have drafted a patent policy with a broader disclosure duty.  It     
could have drafted a policy broad enough to capture a member's  
failed attempts to mine a disclosed specification for broader undisclosed  
claims.   It could have.  It simply did not."

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