Reinforcing some of what Adrian said:
On 1/26/12 5:35 PM, Richard L. Barnes wrote:
I appreciate that there need to be disincentives to infringing the IPR policy, but I'm a
little wary of the idea of codifying a system of sanctions. Mainly for the sorts of
"gaming the system" thinking they engender:
-- Is the benefit of infringing worse than the cost of the sanction?
-- If it's not sanctionable, it must be ok!
This is a line we have worried about. Remember, this document came out
of us being asked, "What can we do about these violations?" and our
answer being, "You already have the tools in your bag. Apply them to the
situation as you see fit." I'm pretty sure we *don't* want a "codified
system of sanctions", and if the document is too far in that direction,
I'd certainly be open to suggestions to make it less so.
Plus, if there are sanctions, then you need a judgement process to decide when
the sanctions will be applied. Is the IETF set up for that?
My view here is that you don't need a "judgment process"; you need
judgment. That's what the bit in section 6 and the appendix are getting
at: Members of the community and chairs and ADs have to take a look at
the situation and decide what is appropriate to the situation. If
someone is disrupting the process by making late disclosures, they can
be sanctioned for it, and that sanction might amount to a chair saying,
"Please try to contribute more productively to the WG by making these
disclosures earlier", just as they would say to someone who is making
obnoxious comments to a WG, "Please try to contribute more productively
by sticking to the technical issues." Or they might fire the person as a
document editor. Or they might initiate a PR Action. None of these are
required, and most don't require much formal process. They do require
some judgment on the part of the WG and chair.
Rather than bright lines and clear sanctions, it seems like a general culture
of conservatism, staying far away from things that could possibly be construed
as violations, would be more in tune with the way other things work at the IETF.
I couldn't agree more. As cited in the document, coming up with ways to
make it more likely that people do the right thing is the topic of
another document. This was strictly aimed at, "Are there things to do
when the situation goes pear-shaped?"
No real answers here, just expressing a gut reaction.
Exceedingly helpful. Thanks.
pr
--
Pete Resnick<http://www.qualcomm.com/~presnick/>
Qualcomm Incorporated - Direct phone: (858)651-4478, Fax: (858)651-1102
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