<pre>Network Working Group                                    S. Bradner, Ed.
Request for Comments: 5378                            Harvard University
BCP: 78                                                J. Contreras, Ed.
Obsoletes: <a href="./rfc3978">3978</a>, <a href="./rfc4748">4748</a>                                         WilmerHale
Updates: <a href="./rfc2026">2026</a>                                              November 2008
Category: Best Current Practice


             <span class="h1">Rights Contributors Provide to the IETF Trust</span>

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the
   Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2008 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp78">BCP 78</a> and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (<a href="http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info">http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info</a>) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.

Abstract

   The IETF policies about rights in Contributions to the IETF are
   designed to ensure that such Contributions can be made available to
   the IETF and Internet communities while permitting the authors to
   retain as many rights as possible.  This memo details the IETF
   policies on rights in Contributions to the IETF.  It also describes
   the objectives that the policies are designed to meet.  This memo
   obsoletes RFCs 3978 and 4748 and, with <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp79">BCP 79</a> and <a href="./rfc5377">RFC 5377</a>, replaces
   <a href="./rfc2026#section-10">Section&nbsp;10 of RFC 2026</a>.













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Table of Contents

   <a href="#section-1">1</a>. Definitions .....................................................<a href="#page-3">3</a>
   <a href="#section-2">2</a>. Introduction ....................................................<a href="#page-5">5</a>
      <a href="#section-2.1">2.1</a>. No Retroactive Effect ......................................<a href="#page-5">5</a>
   <a href="#section-3">3</a>. Exposition of Why These Procedures Are the Way They Are .........<a href="#page-6">6</a>
      <a href="#section-3.1">3.1</a>. Rights Granted in Contributions ............................<a href="#page-6">6</a>
      <a href="#section-3.2">3.2</a>. Rights to Use Contributions ................................<a href="#page-6">6</a>
      <a href="#section-3.3">3.3</a>. Right to Produce Derivative Works ..........................<a href="#page-6">6</a>
      <a href="#section-3.4">3.4</a>. Rights to Use Trademarks ...................................<a href="#page-8">8</a>
      <a href="#section-3.5">3.5</a>. Contributions Not Subject to Copyright .....................<a href="#page-8">8</a>
      <a href="#section-3.6">3.6</a>. Copyright in RFCs ..........................................<a href="#page-9">9</a>
   <a href="#section-4">4</a>. Non-IETF Documents ..............................................<a href="#page-9">9</a>
   <a href="#section-5">5</a>. Rights in Contributions .........................................<a href="#page-9">9</a>
      <a href="#section-5.1">5.1</a>. General Policy .............................................<a href="#page-9">9</a>
      <a href="#section-5.2">5.2</a>. Confidentiality Obligations ...............................<a href="#page-10">10</a>
      <a href="#section-5.3">5.3</a>. Rights Granted by Contributors to the IETF Trust ..........<a href="#page-10">10</a>
      <a href="#section-5.4">5.4</a>. Sublicenses by the IETF Trust .............................<a href="#page-11">11</a>
      <a href="#section-5.5">5.5</a>. No Patent License .........................................<a href="#page-11">11</a>
      <a href="#section-5.6">5.6</a>. Representations and Warranties ............................<a href="#page-11">11</a>
      <a href="#section-5.7">5.7</a>. No Duty to Publish ........................................<a href="#page-12">12</a>
      <a href="#section-5.8">5.8</a>. Trademarks ................................................<a href="#page-12">12</a>
      <a href="#section-5.9">5.9</a>. Copyright in RFCs .........................................<a href="#page-12">12</a>
      <a href="#section-5.10">5.10</a>. Contributors' Retention of Rights ........................<a href="#page-12">12</a>
   6. Legends, Notices and Other Standardized Text in IETF
      Documents ......................................................<a href="#page-13">13</a>
   <a href="#section-7">7</a>. Security Considerations ........................................<a href="#page-13">13</a>
   <a href="#section-8">8</a>. References .....................................................<a href="#page-14">14</a>
      <a href="#section-8.1">8.1</a>. Normative References ......................................<a href="#page-14">14</a>
      <a href="#section-8.2">8.2</a>. Informative References ....................................<a href="#page-14">14</a>
   <a href="#section-9">9</a>. Acknowledgments ................................................<a href="#page-15">15</a>
   <a href="#section-10">10</a>. Changes since <a href="./rfc3978">RFC 3978</a> ........................................<a href="#page-15">15</a>
   <a href="#section-11">11</a>. Declaration from the IAB ......................................<a href="#page-16">16</a>


















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<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-1" href="#section-1">1</a>.  Definitions</span>

   The following definitions are for terms used in the context of this
   document.  Other terms, including "IESG", "ISOC", "IAB", and "RFC
   Editor" are defined in [<a href="./rfc2028" title="&quot;The Organizations Involved in the IETF Standards Process&quot;">RFC2028</a>].

   a. "Contribution": any submission to the IETF intended by the
      Contributor for publication as all or part of an Internet-Draft or
      RFC (except for RFC Editor Contributions described in <a href="#section-4">Section 4</a>
      below) and any statement made within the context of an IETF
      activity.  Such statements include oral statements in IETF
      sessions as well as written and electronic communications, made at
      any time or place, that are addressed to:

      o the IETF plenary session,
      o any IETF working group or portion thereof,
      o any Birds of a Feather (BOF) session,
      o the IESG, or any member thereof on behalf of the IESG,
      o the IAB, or any member thereof on behalf of the IAB,
      o any IETF mailing list, including the IETF list itself, any
        working group or design team list, or any other list functioning
        under IETF auspices,
      o the RFC Editor or the Internet-Drafts function (except for RFC
        Editor Contributions, as described in <a href="#section-4">Section 4</a> below).

      Statements made outside of an IETF session, mailing list, or other
      function, that are clearly not intended to be input to an IETF
      activity, group, or function are not IETF Contributions in the
      context of this document.

   b. "Contributor": an individual submitting a Contribution.

   c. "Indirect Contributor": any person who has materially or
      substantially contributed to a Contribution without being
      personally involved in its submission to the IETF.

   d. "Copyright": the legal right granted to an author in a document or
      other work of authorship under applicable law.  A "copyright" is
      not equivalent to a "right to copy".  Rather a copyright
      encompasses all of the exclusive rights that an author has in a
      work, such as the rights to copy, publish, distribute and create
      derivative works of the work.  An author often cedes these rights
      to his or her employer or other parties as a condition of
      employment or compensation.

   e. "IETF": in the context of this document, the IETF includes all
      individuals who participate in meetings, working groups, mailing
      lists, functions, and other activities that are organized or



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      initiated by ISOC, the IESG, or the IAB under the general
      designation of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), but
      solely to the extent of such participation.

   f. "IETF Documents": RFCs and Internet-Drafts that are used in the
      IETF Standards Process as defined in 1(g).  This is identical to
      the "IETF stream" defined in [<a href="./rfc4844" title="&quot;The RFC Series and RFC Editor&quot;">RFC4844</a>].

   g. "IETF Standards Process": the activities undertaken by the IETF in
      any of the settings described in 1(a) above.

   h. "IETF Trust": a trust established under the laws of the
      Commonwealth of Virginia, USA, in order to hold and administer
      intellectual property rights for the benefit of the IETF.

   i. "Internet-Draft": temporary documents used in the IETF Standards
      Process.  Internet-Drafts are posted on the IETF web site by the
      IETF Secretariat.  As noted in <a href="./rfc2026#section-2.2">Section&nbsp;2.2 of RFC 2026</a>, Internet-
      Drafts have a nominal maximum lifetime of six months in the IETF
      Secretariat's public directory.

   j. "Legend Instructions": the standardized text that is maintained by
      the IETF Trust and is included in IETF Documents and the
      instructions and requirements for including that standardized text
      in IETF Documents.  The text and instructions are posted from time
      to time at <a href="http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info">http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info</a>.

   k. "RFC": the publication series used by the IETF among others.  RFCs
      are published by the RFC Editor.  Although RFCs may be superseded
      in whole or in part by subsequent RFCs, the text of an RFC is not
      altered once published in RFC form.  (See <a href="./rfc2026#section-2.1">[RFC2026] Section&nbsp;2.1</a>.)

   l. "Reasonably and personally known": something an individual knows
      personally or, because of the job the individual holds, would
      reasonably be expected to know.  This wording is used to indicate
      that an organization cannot purposely keep an individual in the
      dark about certain information just to avoid the disclosure
      requirement.

   m. "Non-IETF documents": Internet-Drafts that are submitted to the
      RFC Editor independently of the IETF Standards Process.  (See
      <a href="#section-4">Section 4</a>.)









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<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-2" href="#section-2">2</a>.  Introduction</span>

   In all matters of copyright and document procedures, the intent is to
   benefit the Internet community and the public at large, while
   respecting the legitimate rights of others.

   Under the laws of most countries and current international treaties
   (for example the "Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
   Artistic Work" [<a href="#ref-Berne" title="&quot;Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Work&quot;">Berne</a>]), authors obtain numerous rights in the works
   they produce automatically upon producing them.  These rights include
   copyrights, moral rights, and other rights.  In many cases, if the
   author produces a work within the scope of his or her employment,
   most of those rights are usually assigned to the employer, either by
   operation of law or, in many cases, under contract.  (The Berne
   Convention names some rights as "inalienable", which means that the
   author retains them in all cases.)

   In order for Contributions to be used within the IETF Standards
   Process, including when they are published as Internet-Drafts or
   RFCs, certain limited rights must be granted to the IETF Trust, which
   then grants the necessary rights to the IETF.  In addition,
   Contributors must make representations to the IETF Trust and the IETF
   regarding their ability to grant these rights.

   <a href="#section-1">Section 1</a> provides definitions used in these policies.  Sections <a href="#section-3">3</a>
   and 4 of this document explain the rationale for these provisions.
   Sections <a href="#section-1">1</a>, <a href="#section-2">2</a>, <a href="#section-5">5</a>, and <a href="#section-6">6</a> of this document are normative, the other
   sections are informative.  <a href="./rfc3979">RFC 3979</a> (<a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp79">BCP 79</a>) [<a href="./rfc3979" title="&quot;Intellectual Property Rights in IETF Technology&quot;">RFC3979</a>] deals with
   rights, including possible patent rights, in technologies developed
   or specified as part of the IETF Standards Process.  This document is
   not intended to address those issues.  This memo obsoletes RFCs 3978
   [<a href="./rfc3978" title="&quot;IETF Rights in Contributions&quot;">RFC3978</a>] and 4748 [<a href="./rfc4748" title="&quot;RFC 3978 Update to Recognize the IETF Trust&quot;">RFC4748</a>] and, with <a href="./rfc3979">RFC 3979</a> (<a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp79">BCP 79</a>) and
   [<a href="./rfc5377" title="&quot;Advice to the Trustees of the IETF Trust on Rights to be Granted in IETF Documents&quot;">RFC5377</a>], replaces <a href="./rfc2026#section-10">Section&nbsp;10 of RFC 2026</a> [<a href="./rfc2026" title="&quot;The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3&quot;">RFC2026</a>].

   This document is not intended as legal advice.  Readers are advised
   to consult their own legal advisors if they would like a legal
   interpretation of their rights or the rights of the IETF Trust
   [<a href="./rfc4371" title="&quot;BCP 101 Update for IPR Trust&quot;">RFC4371</a>] in any Contributions they make.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.1" href="#section-2.1">2.1</a>.  No Retroactive Effect</span>

   This memo does not retroactively obtain additional rights from
   Contributions that predate the date that the IETF Trust announces the
   adoption of these procedures.







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<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-3" href="#section-3">3</a>.  Exposition of Why These Procedures Are the Way They Are</span>

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.1" href="#section-3.1">3.1</a>.  Rights Granted in Contributions</span>

   The IETF Trust and the IETF must obtain the right to publish an IETF
   Contribution as an RFC or an Internet-Draft from the Contributors.

   A primary objective of this policy is to obtain from the document
   authors only the non-exclusive rights that are needed to develop and
   publish IETF Documents and to use IETF Contributions in the IETF
   Standards Process and potentially elsewhere.

   The authors retain all other rights, but cannot withdraw the above
   rights from the IETF Trust and the IETF.

   It is important to note that under this document, Contributors are
   required to grant certain rights to the IETF Trust (see <a href="#section-5.3">Section</a>
   <a href="#section-5.3">5.3</a>.), which holds all IETF-related intellectual property on behalf
   of the IETF community.  The IETF Trust will, in turn, grant a
   sublicense of these rights to all IETF participants for use in the
   IETF Standards Process (see <a href="#section-5.4">Section 5.4</a>.).  This sublicense is
   necessary for the standards development work of the IETF to continue.
   In addition, the IETF Trust may grant certain other sublicenses of
   the rights that it is granted under this document.  In granting such
   other sublicenses, the IETF Trust will be guided and bound by
   documents such as [<a href="./rfc5377" title="&quot;Advice to the Trustees of the IETF Trust on Rights to be Granted in IETF Documents&quot;">RFC5377</a>].

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.2" href="#section-3.2">3.2</a>.  Rights to Use Contributions</span>

   It is important that the IETF receive assurances from all
   Contributors that they have the authority to grant the IETF the
   rights that they claim to grant because, under the laws of most
   countries and applicable international treaties, copyright rights
   come into existence when a work of authorship is created (but see
   <a href="#section-3.5">Section 3.5</a> below regarding public domain documents), and the IETF
   cannot make use of IETF Contributions if it does not have sufficient
   rights with respect to these copyright rights.  The IETF and its
   participants would run a greater risk of liability to the owners of
   these rights without this assurance.  To this end, the IETF asks
   Contributors to give the assurances in <a href="#section-5.6">Section 5.6</a> below.  These
   assurances are requested, however, only to the extent of the
   Contributor's reasonable and personal knowledge.  (See <a href="#section-1">Section 1</a>(l).)

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.3" href="#section-3.3">3.3</a>.  Right to Produce Derivative Works</span>

   The IETF needs to be able to evolve IETF Documents in response to
   experience gained in the deployment of the technologies described in
   such IETF Documents, to incorporate developments in research, and to



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   react to changing conditions on the Internet and other IP networks.
   The IETF may also decide to permit others to develop derivative works
   based on Contributions.  In order to do this, the IETF must be able
   to produce derivatives of its documents; thus, the IETF must obtain
   the right from Contributors to produce derivative works.  Note that
   the right to produce translations is required before any Contribution
   can be published as an RFC, to ensure the widest possible
   distribution of the material in RFCs.  The right to produce
   derivative works, in addition to translations, is required for all
   IETF Standards Track documents and for most IETF non-Standards Track
   documents.  There are two exceptions to this requirement: documents
   describing proprietary technologies and documents that are
   republications of the work of other standards organizations.

   The right to produce derivative works must be granted in order for an
   IETF working group to accept a Contribution as a working group
   document or otherwise work on it.  For non-working group
   Contributions where the Contributor requests publication as a
   Standards Track RFC, the right to produce derivative works must be
   granted before the IESG will issue an IETF Last Call and, for most
   non-Standards Track, non-working group Contributions, before the IESG
   will consider the Internet-Draft for publication.  Occasionally a
   Contributor may not want to grant publication rights or the right to
   produce derivative works before finding out if a Contribution has
   been accepted for development in the IETF Standards Process.  In
   these cases, the Contributor may include a limitation on the right to
   make derivative works in the form specified in the Legend
   Instructions.  A working group can discuss the Contribution with the
   aim to decide if it should become a working group document, even
   though the right to produce derivative works or to publish the
   Contribution as an RFC has not yet been granted.  However, if the
   Contribution is accepted for development, the Contributor must
   resubmit the Contribution without the limitation notices before a
   working group can formally adopt the Contribution as a working group
   document.  The IETF Trust may establish different policies for
   granting sublicenses with respect to different types of Contributions
   and content within Contributions (such as executable code versus
   descriptive text or references to third-party materials).  The IETF
   Trust's policies concerning the granting of sublicenses to make
   derivative works will be guided by RFC [<a href="./rfc5377" title="&quot;Advice to the Trustees of the IETF Trust on Rights to be Granted in IETF Documents&quot;">RFC5377</a>].

   The IETF has historically encouraged organizations to publish details
   of their technologies, even when the technologies are proprietary,
   because understanding how existing technology is being used helps
   when developing new technology.  But organizations that publish
   information about proprietary technologies are frequently not willing
   to have the IETF produce revisions of the technologies and then
   possibly claim that the IETF version is the "new version" of the



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   organization's technology.  Organizations that feel this way can
   specify that a Contribution be published with the other rights
   granted under this document but may withhold the right to produce
   derivative works other than translations.

   In addition, IETF Documents frequently make normative references to
   standards or recommendations developed by other standards
   organizations.  Since the publications of some standards
   organizations are not public documents, it can be quite helpful to
   the IETF to republish, with the permission of the other standards
   organization, some of these documents as RFCs so that the IETF
   community can have open access to them to better understand what they
   are referring to.  In these cases, the RFCs can be published without
   the right for the IETF to produce derivative works.  In both of the
   above cases, in which the production of derivative works is excluded,
   the Contributor must include a special legend in the Contribution, as
   specified in the Legend Instructions, in order to notify IETF
   participants about this restriction.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.4" href="#section-3.4">3.4</a>.  Rights to Use Trademarks</span>

   Contributors may wish to seek trademark or service mark protection on
   any terms that are coined or used in their Contributions.  The IETF
   makes no judgment about the validity of any such trademark rights.
   However, the IETF requires each Contributor, under the licenses
   described in <a href="#section-5.3">Section 5.3</a> below, to grant the IETF Trust a perpetual
   license to use any such trademarks or service marks solely in
   exercising rights to reproduce, publish, discuss, and modify the IETF
   Contribution.  This license does not authorize the IETF or others to
   use any trademark or service mark in connection with any product or
   service offering.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.5" href="#section-3.5">3.5</a>.  Contributions Not Subject to Copyright</span>

   Certain documents, including those produced by the U.S. government
   and those which are in the public domain, may not be protected by the
   same copyright and other legal rights as other documents.
   Nevertheless, we ask each Contributor to grant to the IETF the same
   rights he or she would grant, and to make the same representations,
   as though the IETF Contribution were protected by the same legal
   rights as other documents, and as though the Contributor could be
   able to grant these rights.  We ask for these grants and
   representations only to the extent that the Contribution may be
   protected.  We believe they are necessary to protect the ISOC, the
   IETF Trust, the IETF, the IETF Standards Process, and all IETF
   participants, and because the IETF does not have the resources or
   wherewithal to make any independent investigation as to the actual
   proprietary status of any document submitted to it.



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<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.6" href="#section-3.6">3.6</a>.  Copyright in RFCs</span>

   As noted above, Contributors to the IETF (or their employers) retain
   ownership of the copyright in their Contributions.  This includes
   Internet-Drafts and all other Contributions made within the IETF
   Standards Process (e.g., via e-mail, oral comment, and otherwise).
   However, it is important that the IETF (through the IETF Trust) own
   the copyright in documents that are published as RFCs (other than
   Informational RFCs and RFCs that are submitted as RFC Editor
   Contributions).  Ownership of the copyright in an RFC does not
   diminish the Contributors' rights in their underlying contributions,
   but it does prevent anyone other than the IETF Trust (and its
   licensees) from republishing or modifying an RFC in RFC format.  In
   this respect, Contributors are treated the same as anybody else:
   though they may extract and republish their own Contributions without
   limitation, they may not do so in the RFC format used by the IETF.
   And while this principle (which is included in <a href="#section-5.9">Section 5.9</a> below) may
   appear to be new to the IETF, it actually reflects historical
   practice and has been observed for many years through the inclusion
   of an ISOC or IETF Trust copyright notice on all RFC documents since
   the publication of <a href="./rfc2026">RFC 2026</a>.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-4" href="#section-4">4</a>.  Non-IETF Documents</span>

   This document only relates to Contributions made as part of the IETF
   Processes.  Other documents that are referred to as Internet-Drafts
   and RFCs may be submitted to and published by the RFC Editor
   independently of the IETF Standards Process.  Such documents are not
   covered by this document, unless the controlling entity for that
   document stream, as described in [<a href="./rfc4844" title="&quot;The RFC Series and RFC Editor&quot;">RFC4844</a>] chooses to apply these
   rules.  Non-IETF Contributions must be marked appropriately as
   described in the Legend Instructions.  See the RFC Editor web page
   for information about the policies concerning rights in RFC Editor
   Documents; for other document streams, the controlling entity must be
   contacted.  See <a href="#section-11">Section 11</a> for a declaration from the IAB on this
   matter.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-5" href="#section-5">5</a>.  Rights in Contributions</span>

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.1" href="#section-5.1">5.1</a>.  General Policy</span>

   By submission of a Contribution, each person actually submitting the
   Contribution and each named co-Contributor is deemed to have read and
   understood the rules and requirements set forth in this document.
   Each Contributor is deemed, by the act of submitting a Contribution,
   to enter into a legally-binding agreement to comply with the terms
   and conditions set forth in this document.




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   The Contributor is further deemed to have agreed that he/she has
   obtained the necessary permissions to enter into such an agreement
   from any party that the Contributor reasonably and personally knows
   may have rights in the Contribution, including, but not limited to,
   the Contributor's sponsor or employer.

   No further acknowledgment, signature, or other action is required to
   bind a Contributor to these terms and conditions.  The operation of
   the IETF and the work conducted by its many participants is dependent
   on such agreement by each Contributor, and each IETF participant
   expressly relies on the agreement of each Contributor to the terms
   and conditions set forth in this document.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.2" href="#section-5.2">5.2</a>.  Confidentiality Obligations</span>

   No information or document that is subject to any requirement of
   confidentiality or any restriction on its dissemination may be
   submitted as a Contribution or otherwise considered in any part of
   the IETF Standards Process, and there must be no assumption of any
   confidentiality obligation with respect to any Contribution.  Each
   Contributor agrees that any statement in a Contribution, whether
   generated automatically or otherwise, that states or implies that the
   Contribution is confidential or subject to any privilege, can be
   disregarded for all purposes, and will be of no force or effect.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.3" href="#section-5.3">5.3</a>.  Rights Granted by Contributors to the IETF Trust</span>

   To the extent that a Contribution or any portion thereof is protected
   by copyright or other rights of authorship, the Contributor and each
   named co-Contributor grant a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive,
   royalty-free, world-wide, sublicensable right and license to the IETF
   Trust under all such copyrights and other rights in the Contribution:

   a. to copy, publish, display, and distribute the Contribution, in
      whole or in part,

   b. to prepare translations of the Contribution into languages other
      than English, in whole or in part, and to copy, publish, display,
      and distribute such translations or portions thereof,

   c. to modify or prepare derivative works (in addition to
      translations) that are based on or incorporate all or part of the
      Contribution, and to copy, publish, display, and distribute such
      derivative works, or portions thereof unless explicitly disallowed
      in the notices contained in a Contribution (in the form specified
      by the Legend Instructions), and





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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc5378">RFC 5378</a>                   <a href="./rfc3978">RFC 3978</a>-incoming               November 2008</span>


   d. to reproduce any trademarks, service marks, or trade names which
      are included in the Contribution solely in connection with the
      reproduction, distribution, or publication of the Contribution and
      derivative works thereof as permitted by this <a href="#section-5.3">Section 5.3</a>,
      provided that when reproducing Contributions, trademark and
      service mark identifiers used in the Contribution, including TM
      and (R), will be preserved.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.4" href="#section-5.4">5.4</a>.  Sublicenses by the IETF Trust</span>

   The IETF Trust will sublicense the rights granted to it under <a href="#section-5.3">Section</a>
   <a href="#section-5.3">5.3</a> to all IETF participants for use within the IETF Standards
   Process.  This license is expressly granted under a license agreement
   issued by the IETF Trust, which can be found at
   <a href="http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info">http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info</a>.

   This license is expressly granted under a license agreement issued by
   the IETF Trust and must contain a pointer to the full IETF Trust
   agreement.

   In addition, the IETF Trust may grant additional sublicenses of the
   licenses granted to it hereunder.  In doing so, the IETF Trust will
   comply with the guidance provided under <a href="./rfc5377">RFC 5377</a> [<a href="./rfc5377" title="&quot;Advice to the Trustees of the IETF Trust on Rights to be Granted in IETF Documents&quot;">RFC5377</a>].

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.5" href="#section-5.5">5.5</a>.  No Patent License</span>

   The licenses granted in <a href="#section-5.3">Section 5.3</a> shall not be deemed to grant any
   right under any patent, patent application, or other similar
   intellectual property right disclosed by the Contributor under <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp79">BCP 79</a>
   [<a href="./rfc3979" title="&quot;Intellectual Property Rights in IETF Technology&quot;">RFC3979</a>] or otherwise.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.6" href="#section-5.6">5.6</a>.  Representations and Warranties</span>

   With respect to each Contribution, each Contributor represents that,
   to the best of his or her knowledge and ability:

   a. The Contribution properly acknowledges all Contributors, including
      Indirect Contributors.

   b. No information in the Contribution is confidential, and the IETF,
      IETF Trust, ISOC, and its affiliated organizations may freely
      disclose any information in the Contribution.

   c. There are no limits to the Contributor's ability to make the
      grants, acknowledgments, and agreements herein that are reasonably
      and personally known to the Contributor.





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   d. The Contributor has not intentionally included in the Contribution
      any material that is defamatory or untrue or which is illegal
      under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Contributor has
      his or her principal place of business or residence.

   e. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and other proprietary
      names used in the Contribution that are reasonably and personally
      known to the Contributor are clearly designated as such where
      reasonable.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.7" href="#section-5.7">5.7</a>.  No Duty to Publish</span>

   The Contributor, and each named co-Contributor, acknowledges that the
   IETF has no duty to publish or otherwise use or disseminate any
   Contribution.  The IETF reserves the right to withdraw or cease using
   any Contribution that does not comply with the requirements of this
   <a href="#section-5">Section 5</a>.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.8" href="#section-5.8">5.8</a>.  Trademarks</span>

   Contributors who claim trademark rights in terms used in their IETF
   Contributions are requested to state specifically what conditions
   apply to implementers of the technology relative to the use of such
   trademarks.  Such statements should be submitted in the same way as
   is done for other intellectual property claims.  (See <a href="./rfc3979#section-6">[RFC3979]
   Section&nbsp;6</a>.)

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.9" href="#section-5.9">5.9</a>.  Copyright in RFCs</span>

   Subject to each Contributor's (or its sponsor's) ownership of its
   underlying Contributions as described in <a href="#section-5.6">Section 5.6</a> (which ownership
   is qualified by the irrevocable licenses granted under <a href="#section-5.3">Section 5.3</a>),
   each Contributor hereby acknowledges that the copyright in any RFC in
   which such Contribution is included, other than an RFC that is an RFC
   Editor Contribution, shall be owned by the IETF Trust.  Such
   Contributor shall be deemed to assign to the IETF Trust such
   Contributor's copyright interest in the collective work constituting

   such RFC upon the submission of such RFC for publication, and
   acknowledges that a copyright notice acknowledging the IETF Trust's
   ownership of the copyright in such RFC will be included in the
   published RFC.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.10" href="#section-5.10">5.10</a>.  Contributors' Retention of Rights</span>

   Although Contributors provide specific rights to the IETF, it is not
   intended that this should deprive them of their right to exploit
   their Contributions.  To underscore this principle, the IETF Trust is



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   directed to issue a license or assurance to Contributors, which
   confirms that they may each make use of their Contributions as
   published in an RFC in any way they wish, subject only to the
   restriction that no Contributor has the right to represent any
   document as an RFC, or equivalent of an RFC, if it is not a full and
   complete copy or translation of the published RFC.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-6" href="#section-6">6</a>.  Legends, Notices and Other Standardized Text in IETF Documents</span>

   The IETF requires that certain standardized text be reproduced
   verbatim in certain IETF Documents (including copies, derivative
   works, and translations of IETF Documents).  Some of this
   standardized text may be mandatory (e.g., copyright notices and
   disclaimers that must be included in all RFCs) and some may be
   optional (e.g., limitations on the right to make derivative works).
   The text itself, as well as the rules that explain when and how it
   must be used, is contained in the Legend Instructions.  The Legend
   Instructions may be updated from time to time, and the version of the
   standardized text that must be included in IETF Documents is that
   which was posted in the Legend Instructions on the date of
   publication.

   The IETF reserves the right to refuse to publish Contributions that
   do not include the legends and notices required by the Legend
   Instructions.

   It is important to note that each Contributor grants the IETF Trust
   rights pursuant to this document and the policies described herein.
   The legends and notices included in certain written Contributions
   such as Internet-Drafts do not themselves convey any rights.  They
   are simply included to inform the reader (whether or not part of the
   IETF) about certain legal rights and limitations associated with such
   documents.

   It is also important to note that additional copyright notices are
   not permitted in IETF Documents except in the case where such
   document is the product of a joint development effort between the
   IETF and another standards development organization or is a
   republication of the work of another standards development
   organization.  Such exceptions must be approved on an individual
   basis by the IAB.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-7" href="#section-7">7</a>.  Security Considerations</span>

   This memo relates to the IETF process, not any particular technology.
   There are security considerations when adopting any technology, but
   there are no known issues of security with IETF Contribution rights
   policies.



<span class="grey">Bradner &amp; Contreras      Best Current Practice                 [Page 13]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-14" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc5378">RFC 5378</a>                   <a href="./rfc3978">RFC 3978</a>-incoming               November 2008</span>


<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-8" href="#section-8">8</a>.  References</span>

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-8.1" href="#section-8.1">8.1</a>.  Normative References</span>

   [<a id="ref-RFC2026">RFC2026</a>] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision
             3", <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp9">BCP 9</a>, <a href="./rfc2026">RFC 2026</a>, October 1996.

   [<a id="ref-RFC2028">RFC2028</a>] Hovey, R. and S. Bradner, "The Organizations Involved in
             the IETF Standards Process", <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp11">BCP 11</a>, <a href="./rfc2028">RFC 2028</a>, October
             1996.

   [<a id="ref-RFC3979">RFC3979</a>] Bradner, S., Ed., "Intellectual Property Rights in IETF
             Technology", <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp79">BCP 79</a>, <a href="./rfc3979">RFC 3979</a>, March 2005.

   [<a id="ref-RFC4371">RFC4371</a>] Carpenter, B., Ed., and L. Lynch, Ed., "<a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp101">BCP 101</a> Update for
             IPR Trust", <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp101">BCP 101</a>, <a href="./rfc4371">RFC 4371</a>, January 2006.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-8.2" href="#section-8.2">8.2</a>.  Informative References</span>

   [<a id="ref-RFC3978">RFC3978</a>] Bradner, S., Ed., "IETF Rights in Contributions", <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp78">BCP 78</a>,
             <a href="./rfc3978">RFC 3978</a>, March 2005.

   [<a id="ref-RFC4748">RFC4748</a>] Bradner, S., Ed., "<a href="./rfc3978">RFC 3978</a> Update to Recognize the IETF
             Trust", <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp78">BCP 78</a>, <a href="./rfc4748">RFC 4748</a>, October 2006.

   [<a id="ref-RFC4844">RFC4844</a>] Daigle, L., Ed., and Internet Architecture Board, "The RFC
             Series and RFC Editor", <a href="./rfc4844">RFC 4844</a>, July 2007.

   [<a id="ref-RFC5377">RFC5377</a>] Halpern, J., Ed., "Advice to the Trustees of the IETF Trust
             on Rights to be Granted in IETF Documents", <a href="./rfc5377">RFC 5377</a>,
             November 2008.

   [<a id="ref-Berne">Berne</a>]   "Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
             Artistic Work", <a href="http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/trtdocs_wo001.html">http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/</a>
             <a href="http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/trtdocs_wo001.html">trtdocs_wo001.html</a>.
















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<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-9" href="#section-9">9</a>.  Acknowledgments</span>

   The editors would like to acknowledge the help the IETF IPR Working
   Group provided during the development of the document.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-10" href="#section-10">10</a>.  Changes since <a href="./rfc3978">RFC 3978</a></span>

   This document represents a significant reorganization and rewording
   of <a href="./rfc3978">RFC 3978</a>, along with a number of substantive changes.

   The most basic change is to limit this document to the rights that a
   Contributor grants to the IETF Trust when making a Contribution.  All
   sublicenses of rights for the use of IETF Documents must be provided
   by the IETF Trust.  (See <a href="#section-5.4">Section 5.4</a>.)

   Material added from <a href="./rfc4748">RFC 4748</a> that recognized the IETF Trust.

   Most of the material relating to RFC Editor documents has been
   removed since the RFC Editor maintains their own rules and processes
   for RFC Editor documents.  Renamed these documents to "non-IETF
   documents".  Added <a href="#section-11">section 11</a> from the IAB discussing this topic.

   Changes in the definitions section include defining the terms
   "Contribution", "Indirect Contributor", "Copyright", "IETF Trust",
   and "Legend Instructions", as well as minor tweaks to some of the
   other definitions.

   The responsibility for the text of notices has been given to the IETF
   Trust and removed from this document.  (See <a href="#section-6">Section 6</a>.)

   Clarified that Contributors enter into a legally binding contract
   when they submit a Contribution.  (See <a href="#section-5.1">Section 5.1</a>.)

   The right to produce derivative works provided by the Contributor to
   the IETF Trust is not limited to being within the IETF Standards
   Process.

   Made it clear that this document does not deal with patent licenses.
   (See <a href="#section-5.5">Section 5.5</a>.)

   Clarified the ownership of the Copyrights to IETF Documents.  (See
   <a href="#section-5.9">Section 5.9</a>.)

   Clarified the rights retained by authors of IETF Contributions.  (See
   <a href="#section-5.10">Section 5.10</a>.)






<span class="grey">Bradner &amp; Contreras      Best Current Practice                 [Page 15]</span></pre>
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<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-11" href="#section-11">11</a>.  Declaration from the IAB</span>

   The IAB discussed the IPR documents during its most recent call.  It
   unanimously decided that the IAB stream is to be covered by the
   incoming IPR document.  It is our understanding that IAB stream
   documents' IPR are then automatically covered by the outbound rights
   that the IETF Trust will establish based on the advice in [<a href="./rfc5377" title="&quot;Advice to the Trustees of the IETF Trust on Rights to be Granted in IETF Documents&quot;">RFC5377</a>].

   We also want to stress that, for any change in the inbound rights for
   streams other than the IETF and IAB streams, there needs to be a
   stream-dependent discussion and approval process, as indicated in <a href="./rfc4844">RFC</a>
   <a href="./rfc4844">4844</a>, "The RFC Series and RFC Editor" <a href="./rfc4844#section-4.2.3">[RFC4844], section&nbsp;4.2.3</a>.

   To that extent, <a href="#section-4">section 4</a> of the document should explicitly mention
   that the IRTF, the Independent, and any possible future streams are
   not covered by the document.

   For the IAB,

   Olaf Kolkman
   April 4, 2008

Editors' Addresses

   Scott Bradner
   Harvard University
   29 Oxford St.
   Cambridge MA, 02138 USA

   Phone: +1 617 495 3864
   EMail: sob@harvard.edu


   Jorge L. Contreras
   WilmerHale
   1875 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
   Washington, DC 20006 USA

   Phone: +1 202 663 6872
   EMail: jorge.contreras@wilmerhale.com











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</pre>