Dear IETF,
I appreciate all you have done to keep the internet as free as possible,
and to make the internet better. Truly, the freedom of the internet is
the one overarching principle that makes it so great. This ultimately
is the reason that patent restricted technology should not be
incorporated into internet standards.
There is great harm in incorporating patent restricted technology into
internet standards. Patents are essentially a right to have a control,
a monopoly, on an idea. There are obviously legal means and
requirements to defend that control, which obviously impacts others.
Placing such a technology into a standard thus this places the standard
itself somewhat under proprietary control. And, it may place
well-meaning people in harms way. For example, developers who
conscientiously try adhere to the standards may not realize that by
adhering to the standards, they may be putting themselves and/or their
users at risk. (If developers do realize this, they should
conscientiously object to complying with the doption of the standard,
and that tends to undermine the credibility of both the standard and the
organization that passed it.) And, it creates a cloud a confusion even
for the people who are aware of the patent.
Please do not allow the RedPhone "TLS authorization" technology to be
incorporated into internet standards until it is free from all
proprietary control. I urge you to use your best intellect and judgment
in support of internet and software freedom.
Thanks,
John Thompson
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