Re: [idn] Walid inc. patent news.

[Marc Blanchet <Marc.Blanchet@viagenie.qc.ca>]

At/À 10:07 2001-04-26 -0700, Dave Crocker you wrote/vous écriviez:
>Marc,
>
>Your comment was so cryptic, I do not know what it means.  Please clarify.

sorry. just saying that doing patent litigation _cannot_ be a _formal_ 
working group activity. could be done by a group of people/companies/... 
but not as a wg item or activity.  I was just emphazing your "does not have 
to be" to a "cannot be".

More clear?

Marc.


>If you are saying that an effort like this cannot be, why?
>
>If you are saying that an effort like this cannot take place within an 
>IETF working group, I guess I am also curious why not.  (Though the issue 
>is secondary, since I believe the process would be easier and more 
>efficient to handle outside the working group.
>
>If you are saying that an effort like this cannot get around the patent, 
>I'll simply note that that is a question that is as much a matter of law 
>as engineering.  It is sometimes fascinating to see what an attorney will 
>recommend...
>
>Given the importance of this work, it seems entirely worthwhile to be 
>aggressive in seeking a solution that is not encumbered with proprietary 
>intellectual property.
>
>d/
>
>
>At 09:33 AM 4/26/2001, Marc Blanchet wrote:
>>At/À 09:19 2001-04-26 -0700, Dave Crocker you wrote/vous écriviez:
>>>This might be a little strange, but it also might be worth pursuing:
>>>
>>>In patent infringement cases, one way a defendant responds is to make 
>>>changes to their product, to ensure that it certainly does not infringe 
>>>in the future.  (Whether it infringed earlier is a separate 
>>>question.)  This process of re-design is done in consultation with a 
>>>patent litigation attorney.
>>>
>>>I am wondering whether it would not behoove the collective participants 
>>>in the IDNS working group to band together and acquire the assistance of 
>>>a patent litigation attorney, and explore possible redesigns to working 
>>>group specifications, to bypass the patents that are being asserted?
>>>
>>>This does not have to be a formal working group activity.
>>
>>this cannot be.
>>
>>Marc.
>>
>>>  Privately, some companies could  get together, contribute the 
>>> necessary funds to the re-design group effort, and produce a revised 
>>> specification that they then submit to the working group.
>>
>>----------
>>Dave Crocker   <mailto:dcrocker@brandenburg.com>
>>Brandenburg InternetWorking   <http://www.brandenburg.com>
>>tel: +1.408.246.8253;   fax: +1.408.273.6464