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Re: Shuffle those deck chairs!

2004-10-20 01:26:55
I'll try to refrain from further replies, as the sergeant-at-arms 
already declared this a bit out of scope..

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004, Michael Richardson wrote:
    Eric> What happens when I want to re-use (say) a hash function from
    Eric> a library with patent coverage and an area-of-application rule
    Eric> on the patent license?  -- <a
  
  To add more meat to the example.

  Assume that the service library is in fact for HTTP, and it the patent
related to use of MD5 in basic-authentication. 

  Assume that Eric now wishes to *reuse* this library to implement
something similar as SIP.

There would seem to be two ways to tackle this kind of issue properly:

1) create a separate spec about MD5 in basic-authentication, and make 
it standards track.  Then it could be reused in every context if free 
use is granted for standards compliance, or

2) have the service library export only such interfaces that reusing 
them would not be possible without code modifications and seeing the 
licensing warning.

-- 
Pekka Savola                 "You each name yourselves king, yet the
Netcore Oy                    kingdom bleeds."
Systems. Networks. Security. -- George R.R. Martin: A Clash of Kings



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