Sun donates elliptic curve code to OpenSSL?

[bear]

On Tue, 24 Sep 2002, Bodo Moeller wrote:

>On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 01:29:29PM +0100, Ben Laurie wrote:
>> Markus Friedl wrote:
>
>>> With this code OpenSSL is turning into a non-free project.
>
>> As has been observed elsewhere, the patent stuff only applies if you
>> make a similar promise to Sun. If you don't want to have Sun not sue you
>> when you infringe, then don't promise not to sue them.
>
>Here's a longer explanation.  The Sun code in OpenSSL 0.9.8-dev is
>available under the OpenSSL license; additionally, you have the
>*option* to accept the covenant:
>
>     The ECC Code is licensed pursuant to the OpenSSL open source
>     license provided below.
>
>     In addition, Sun covenants to all licensees who provide a reciprocal
>                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>     covenant with respect to their own patents if any, not to sue under
>     ^^^^^^^^
>     current and future patent claims necessarily infringed by the making,
>     using, practicing, selling, offering for sale and/or otherwise
>     disposing of the ECC Code as delivered hereunder (or portions thereof),
>     provided that such covenant shall not apply: [...]
>
>That's a defining relative clause.  If you are not willing to provide
>a reciprocal covenant, this has nothing to do with you.  You just
>can't use the stuff patented by Sun, but it's not compiled in by
>default anyway for exactly this reason.

Read it again.  The first two words of the second sentence you
quoted are, "In addition..."

As I understand it, this means the donated code is available under
the OpenSSL source license.  So you *can* use it, whether or not
it's patented by Sun.

*In addition* to that, *if* you have software patents and you
promise not to sue Sun over them because of an infringement you
find in the donated code, then Sun promises that it won't sue
you either.  Sun does not forbid people from using the donated
code on the basis of whether or not they make this promise.

Basically, they're offering something they didn't have to offer
in order to release it under the OpenSSL license; if they'd
simply released it under the OpenSSL license, you'd have fewer
options, not more.

				Bear



---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo at wasabisystems.com