<pre>Network Working Group                                         F. Dawson
Request for Comments: 2447                                        Lotus
Category: Standards Track                                    S. Mansour
                                                               Netscape
                                                          S. Silverberg
                                                              Microsoft
                                                          November 1998


           <span class="h1">iCalendar Message-Based Interoperability Protocol</span>
                                 <span class="h1">(iMIP)</span>

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This document, [iMIP], specifies a binding from the iCalendar
   Transport-independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP) to Internet
   email-based transports. Calendaring entries defined by the iCalendar
   Object Model [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] are composed using constructs from [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>],
   [<a href="./rfc2045" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies&quot;">RFC-2045</a>], [<a href="./rfc2046" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part Two: Media Types&quot;">RFC-2046</a>], [<a href="./rfc2047" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part Three: Message Header Extensions for Non-ASCII Text&quot;">RFC-2047</a>], [<a href="./rfc2048" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part Four: Registration Procedures&quot;">RFC-2048</a>] and [<a href="./rfc2049">RFC-2049</a>].

   This document is based on discussions within the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF) Calendaring and Scheduling (CALSCH) working group.
   More information about the IETF CALSCH working group activities can
   be found on the IMC web site at <a href="http://www.imc.org">http://www.imc.org</a>, the IETF web site
   at <a href="http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/calsch-charter.html">http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/calsch-charter.html</a>. Refer to
   the references within this document for further information on how to
   access these various documents.












<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                     [Page 1]</span></pre>
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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


Table of Contents

 <a href="#section-1">1</a> INTRODUCTION........................................................<a href="#page-2">2</a>
  <a href="#section-1.1">1.1</a> RELATED MEMOS ...................................................<a href="#page-2">2</a>
  <a href="#section-1.2">1.2</a> FORMATTING CONVENTIONS ..........................................<a href="#page-3">3</a>
  <a href="#section-1.3">1.3</a> TERMINOLOGY .....................................................<a href="#page-4">4</a>
 <a href="#section-2">2</a> MIME MESSAGE FORMAT BINDING.........................................<a href="#page-4">4</a>
  <a href="#section-2.1">2.1</a> MIME MEDIA TYPE .................................................<a href="#page-4">4</a>
  <a href="#section-2.2">2.2</a> SECURITY ........................................................<a href="#page-4">4</a>
    <a href="#section-2.2.1">2.2.1</a> Authorization ...............................................<a href="#page-4">4</a>
    <a href="#section-2.2.2">2.2.2</a> Authentication ..............................................<a href="#page-5">5</a>
    <a href="#section-2.2.3">2.2.3</a> Confidentiality .............................................<a href="#page-5">5</a>
  <a href="#section-2.3">2.3</a> [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] ADDRESSES .............................................<a href="#page-5">5</a>
  <a href="#section-2.4">2.4</a> CONTENT TYPE ....................................................<a href="#page-5">5</a>
  <a href="#section-2.5">2.5</a> CONTENT-TRANSFER-ENCODING .......................................<a href="#page-6">6</a>
  <a href="#section-2.6">2.6</a> CONTENT-DISPOSITION .............................................<a href="#page-6">6</a>
 <a href="#section-3">3</a> SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS.............................................<a href="#page-7">7</a>
 <a href="#section-4">4</a> EXAMPLES............................................................<a href="#page-8">8</a>
  <a href="#section-4.1">4.1</a> SINGLE COMPONENT WITH AN ATTACH PROPERTY ........................<a href="#page-8">8</a>
  <a href="#section-4.2">4.2</a> USING MULTIPART ALTERNATIVE FOR LOW FIDELITY CLIENTS ............<a href="#page-8">8</a>
  <a href="#section-4.3">4.3</a> SINGLE COMPONENT WITH AN ATTACH PROPERTY AND INLINE ATTACHMENT ..9
  <a href="#section-4.4">4.4</a> MULTIPLE SIMILAR COMPONENTS ....................................<a href="#page-10">10</a>
  <a href="#section-4.5">4.5</a> MULTIPLE MIXED COMPONENTS ......................................<a href="#page-11">11</a>
  <a href="#section-4.6">4.6</a> DETAILED COMPONENTS WITH AN ATTACH PROPERTY ....................<a href="#page-13">13</a>
 <a href="#section-5">5</a> RECOMMENDED PRACTICES..............................................<a href="#page-14">14</a>
  <a href="#section-5.1">5.1</a> USE OF CONTENT AND MESSAGE IDS .................................<a href="#page-14">14</a>
 <a href="#section-6">6</a> BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................<a href="#page-15">15</a>
 <a href="#section-7">7</a> AUTHORS' ADDRESSES.................................................<a href="#page-16">16</a>
 <a href="#section-8">8</a> FULL COPYRIGHT STATEMENT...........................................<a href="#page-18">18</a>

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

   This binding document provides the transport specific information
   necessary convey iCalendar Transport-independent Interoperability
   Protocol (iTIP) over MIME as defined in [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] and [<a href="./rfc2045" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies&quot;">RFC-2045</a>].

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-1.1" href="#section-1.1">1.1</a> Related Memos</span>

   Implementers will need to be familiar with several other memos that,
   along with this memo, form a framework for Internet calendaring and
   scheduling standards.

   This document, [iMIP], specifies an Internet email binding for iTIP.

   [<a id="ref-iCAL">iCAL</a>] - specifies a core specification of objects, data types,
   properties and property parameters;





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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   [<a id="ref-iTIP">iTIP</a>] - specifies an interoperability protocol for scheduling
   between different implementations;

   This memo does not attempt to repeat the specification of concepts or
   definitions from these other memos. Where possible, references are
   made to the memo that provides for the specification of these
   concepts or definitions.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-1.2" href="#section-1.2">1.2</a> Formatting Conventions</span>

   The mechanisms defined in this memo are defined in prose. In order to
   refer to elements of the calendaring and scheduling model, core
   object or interoperability protocol defined in [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] and [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>] some
   formatting conventions have been used.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY" and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [<a href="./rfc2119" title="&quot;Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels&quot;">RFC-2119</a>].

   Calendaring and scheduling roles are referred to in quoted-strings of
   text with the first character of each word in upper case. For
   example, "Organizer" refers to a role of a "Calendar User" within the
   scheduling protocol defined by [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>].

   Calendar components defined by [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] are referred to with
   capitalized, quoted-strings of text. All calendar components start
   with the letter "V". For example, "VEVENT" refers to the event
   calendar component, "VTODO" refers to the to-do calendar component
   and "VJOURNAL" refers to the daily journal calendar component.

   Scheduling methods defined by [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>] are referred to with
   capitalized, quoted-strings of text. For example, "REQUEST" refers to
   the method for requesting a scheduling calendar component be created
   or modified, "REPLY" refers to the method a recipient of a request
   uses to update their status with the "Organizer" of the calendar
   component.

   Properties defined by [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] are referred to with capitalized,
   quoted-strings of text, followed by the word "property". For example,
   "ATTENDEE" property refers to the iCalendar property used to convey
   the calendar address of a calendar user.

   Property parameters defined by [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] are referred to with lower
   case, quoted-strings of text, followed by the word "parameter". For
   example, "value" parameter refers to the iCalendar property parameter
   used to override the default data type for a property value.





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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-1.3" href="#section-1.3">1.3</a> Terminology</span>

   The email terms used in this memo are defined in [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] and [RFC-
   2045]. The calendaring and scheduling terms used in this memo are
   defined in [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] and [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>].

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-2" href="#section-2">2</a> MIME Message Format Binding</span>

   This section defines the message binding to the MIME electronic mail
   transport.

   The sections below refer to the "originator" and the "respondent" of
   an iMIP message. Typically, the originator is the "Organizer" of an
   event.  The respondent is an "Attendee" of the event.

   The [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] "Reply-To" header typically contains the email address
   of the originator or respondent of an event. However, this cannot be
   guaranteed as Mail User Agents (MUA) are not required to enforce iMIP
   semantics.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.1" href="#section-2.1">2.1</a> MIME Media Type</span>

   A MIME entity containing content information formatted according to
   this document will be referenced as a "text/calendar" content type.
   It is assumed that this content type will be transported through a
   MIME electronic mail transport.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.2" href="#section-2.2">2.2</a> Security</span>

   This section addresses several aspects of security including
   Authentication, Authorization and Confidentiality. Authentication and
   confidentiality can be achieved using [<a href="./rfc1847" title="&quot;Security Multiparts for MIME: Multipart/Signed and Multipart/Encrypted&quot;">RFC-1847</a>] that specifies the
   Security Multiparts for MIME. This framework defines new content
   types and subtypes of multipart: signed and encrypted. Each contains
   two body parts: one for the protected data and another for the
   control information necessary to remove the protection.

<span class="h4"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.2.1" href="#section-2.2.1">2.2.1</a> Authorization</span>

   In [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>] messages, only the "Organizer" is authorized to modify or
   cancel calendar entries they organize. That is, spoof@xyz.com is not
   allowed to modify or cancel a meeting that was organized by
   a@example.com. Furthermore, only the respondent has the authorization
   to indicate their status to the "Organizer". That is, the "Organizer"
   must ignore an [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>] message from spoof@xyz.com that declines a
   meeting invitation for b@example.com.





<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                     [Page 4]</span></pre>
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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   Implementations of iMIP SHOULD verify the authenticity of the creator
   of an iCalendar object before taking any action. The methods for
   doing this are presented later in this document.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-1847">RFC-1847</a>] Message flow in iTIP supports someone working on behalf of
   a "Calendar User" through use of the "sent-by" parameter that is
   associated with the "ATTENDEE" and "ORGANIZER" properties. However,
   there is no mechanism to verify whether or not a "Calendar User" has
   authorized someone to work on their behalf. It is left to
   implementations to provide mechanisms for the "Calendar Users" to
   make that decision.

<span class="h4"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.2.2" href="#section-2.2.2">2.2.2</a> Authentication</span>

   Authentication can be performed using an implementation of [<a href="./rfc1847" title="&quot;Security Multiparts for MIME: Multipart/Signed and Multipart/Encrypted&quot;">RFC-1847</a>]
   "multipart/signed" that supports public/private key certificates.
   Authentication is possible only on messages that have been signed.
   Authenticating an unsigned message may not be reliable.

<span class="h4"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.2.3" href="#section-2.2.3">2.2.3</a> Confidentiality</span>

   To ensure confidentiality using iMIP implementations should utilize
   [<a href="./rfc1847" title="&quot;Security Multiparts for MIME: Multipart/Signed and Multipart/Encrypted&quot;">RFC-1847</a>]-compliant encryption. The protocol does not restrict a
   "Calendar User Agent" (CUA) from forwarding iCalendar objects to
   other users or agents.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.3" href="#section-2.3">2.3</a> [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] Addresses</span>

   The calendar address specified within the "ATTENDEE" property in an
   iCalendar object MUST be a fully qualified, [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] address
   specification for the corresponding "Organizer" or "Attendee" of the
   "VEVENT" or "VTODO".

   Because [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>] does not preclude "Attendees" from forwarding
   "VEVENTS" or "VTODOS" to others, the [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] "Sender" value may not
   equal that of the "Organizer". Additionally, the "Organizer" or
   "Attendee" cannot be reliably inferred by the [<a href="./rfc822" title="&quot;Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages&quot;">RFC-822</a>] "Sender" or
   "Reply-to" values of an iMIP message. The relevant address MUST be
   ascertained by opening the "text/calendar" MIME body part and
   examining the "ATTENDEE" and "ORGANIZER" properties.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.4" href="#section-2.4">2.4</a> Content Type</span>

   A MIME body part containing content information that conforms to this
   document MUST have an [<a href="./rfc2045" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies&quot;">RFC-2045</a>] "Content-Type" value of
   "text/calendar". The [<a href="./rfc2045" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies&quot;">RFC-2045</a>] "Content-Type" header field must also
   include the type parameter "method". The value MUST be the same as
   the value of the "METHOD" calendar property within the iCalendar



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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   object.  This means that a MIME message containing multiple iCalendar
   objects with different method values must be further encapsulated
   with a "multipart/mixed" MIME entity. This will allow each of the
   iCalendar objects to be encapsulated within their own "text/calendar"
   MIME entity.

   A "charset" parameter MUST be present if the iCalendar object
   contains characters that are not part of the US-ASCII character set.
   [<a href="./rfc2046" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part Two: Media Types&quot;">RFC-2046</a>] discusses the selection of an appropriate "charset" value.

   The optional "component" parameter defines the iCalendar component
   type contained within the iCalendar object.

   The following is an example of this header field with a value that
   indicates an event message.

        Content-Type:text/calendar; method=request; charset=UTF-8;
              component=vevent

   The "text/calendar" content type allows for the scheduling message
   type to be included in a MIME message with other content information
   (i.e., "multipart/mixed") or included in a MIME message with a
   clear-text, human-readable form of the scheduling message (i.e.,
   "multipart/alternative").

   In order to permit the information in the scheduling message to be
   understood by MIME user agents (UA) that do not support the
   "text/calendar" content type, scheduling messages SHOULD be sent with
   an alternative, human-readable form of the information.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.5" href="#section-2.5">2.5</a> Content-Transfer-Encoding</span>

   Note that the default character set for iCalendar objects is UTF-8. A
   transfer encoding SHOULD be used for iCalendar objects containing any
   characters that are not part of the US-ASCII character set.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.6" href="#section-2.6">2.6</a> Content-Disposition</span>

   The handling of a MIME part should be based on its [<a href="./rfc2045" title="&quot;Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies&quot;">RFC-2045</a>]
   "Content-Type". However, this is not guaranteed to work in all
   environments. Some environments handle MIME attachments based on
   their file type or extension. To operate correctly in these
   environments, implementations may wish to include a "Content-
   Disposition" property to define a file name.







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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-3" href="#section-3">3</a> Security Considerations</span>

   The security threats that applications must address when implementing
   iTIP are detailed in [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>]. Two spoofing threats are identified:
   Spoofing the "Organizer", and Spoofing an "Attendee". To address
   these threats, the originator of an iCalendar object must be
   authenticated by a recipient. Once authenticated, a determination can
   be made as to whether or not the originator is authorized to perform
   the requested operation. Compliant applications MUST support signing
   and encrypting text/calendar attachments using a mechanism based on
   Security Multiparts for MIME [<a href="./rfc1847" title="&quot;Security Multiparts for MIME: Multipart/Signed and Multipart/Encrypted&quot;">RFC-1847</a>] to facilitate the
   authentication the originator of the iCalendar object.
   Implementations MAY provide a means for users to disable signing and
   encrypting. The steps are described below:

   1. The iCalendar object MUST be signed by the "Organizer" sending an
   update or the "Attendee" sending a reply.

   2. Using the [<a href="./rfc1847" title="&quot;Security Multiparts for MIME: Multipart/Signed and Multipart/Encrypted&quot;">RFC-1847</a>]-compliant security mechanism, determine who
   signed the iCalendar object. This is the "signer". Note that the
   signer is not necessarily the person sending an e-mail message since
   an e-mail message can be forwarded.

   3. Correlate the signer to an "ATTENDEE" property in the iCalendar
   object. If the signer cannot be correlated to an "ATTENDEE" property,
   ignore the message.

   4. Determine whether or not the "ATTENDEE" is authorized to perform
   the operation as defined by [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>]. If the conditions are not met,
   ignore the message.

   5. If all the above conditions are met, the message can be processed.

   To address the confidentiality security threats, signed iMIP messages
   SHOULD be encrypted by a mechanism based on Security Multiparts for
   MIME [<a href="./rfc1847" title="&quot;Security Multiparts for MIME: Multipart/Signed and Multipart/Encrypted&quot;">RFC-1847</a>].

   It is possible to receive iMIP messages sent by someone working on
   behalf of another "Calendar User". This is determined by examining
   the "sent-by" parameter in the relevant "ORGANIZER" or "ATTENDEE"
   property.  [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] and [<a href="#ref-iTIP" title="&quot;iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal Entries&quot;">iTIP</a>] provide no mechanism to verify that a
   "Calendar User" has authorized someone else to work on their behalf.
   To address this security issue, implementations MUST provide
   mechanisms for the "Calendar Users" to make that decision before
   applying changes from someone working on behalf of a "Calendar User".






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<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-4" href="#section-4">4</a> Examples</span>

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.1" href="#section-4.1">4.1</a> Single Component With An ATTACH Property</span>

   This minimal message shows how an iCalendar object references an
   attachment. The attachment is accessible via its URL.

   From: sman@netscape.com
   To: stevesil@microsoft.com
   Subject: Phone Conference
   Mime-Version: 1.0
   Content-Type:text/calendar; method=REQUEST; charset=US-ASCII
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   PRODID:-//ACME/DesktopCalendar//EN
   METHOD:REQUEST
   VERSION:2.0
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ORGANIZER:mailto:sman@netscape.com
   ATTENDEE;ROLE=CHAIR;ATTSTAT=ACCEPTED:mailto:sman@netscape.com
   ATTENDEE;RSVP=YES:mailto:stevesil@microsoft.com
   DTSTAMP:19970611T190000Z
   DTSTART:19970701T210000Z
   DTEND:19970701T230000Z
   SUMMARY:Phone Conference
   DESCRIPTION:Please review the attached document.
   UID:calsvr.example.com-873970198738777
   ATTACH:ftp://ftp.bar.com/pub/docs/foo.doc
   STATUS:CONFIRMED
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.2" href="#section-4.2">4.2</a> Using Multipart Alternative for Low Fidelity Clients</span>

   This example shows how a client can emit a multipart message that
   includes both a plain text version as well as the full iCalendar
   object.  Clients that do not support text/calendar will still be
   capable of rendering the plain text representation.

   From: foo1@example.com
   To: foo2@example.com
   Subject: Phone Conference
   Mime-Version: 1.0
   Content-Type: multipart/alternative;boundary="01BD3665.3AF0D360"

   --01BD3665.3AF0D360
   Content-Type: text/plain;charset=us-ascii



<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                     [Page 8]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-9" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

   This is an alternative representation of a TEXT/CALENDAR MIME Object
   When: 7/1/1997 10:00AM PDT - 7/1/97 10:30AM PDT
   Where:
   Organizer: foo1@example.com
   Summary: Phone Conference

   --01BD3665.3AF0D360
   Content-Type:text/calendar; method=REQUEST; charset=US-ASCII
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   PRODID:-//ACME/DesktopCalendar//EN
   METHOD:REQUEST
   VERSION:2.0
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ORGANIZER:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;ROLE=CHAIR;ATTSTAT=ACCEPTED:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;RSVP=YES;TYPE=INDIVIDUAL:mailto:foo2@example.com
   DTSTAMP:19970611T190000Z
   DTSTART:19970701T170000Z
   DTEND:19970701T173000Z
   SUMMARY:Phone Conference
   UID:calsvr.example.com-8739701987387771
   SEQUENCE:0
   STATUS:CONFIRMED
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

   --01BD3665.3AF0D360

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.3" href="#section-4.3">4.3</a> Single Component With An ATTACH Property and Inline Attachment</span>

   This example shows how a message containing an iCalendar object
   references an attached document. The reference is made using a
   Content-id (CID). Thus, the iCalendar object and the document are
   packaged in a multipart/related encapsulation.

   From: foo1@example.com
   To: foo2@example.com
   Subject: Phone Conference
   Mime-Version: 1.0
   Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="boundary-example-1";
                 type=text/calendar

   --boundary-example-1




<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                     [Page 9]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-10" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   Content-Type:text/calendar; method=REQUEST; charset=US-ASCII
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
   Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="event.vcs"

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   PRODID:-//ACME/DesktopCalendar//EN
   METHOD:REQUEST
   VERSION:2.0
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ORGANIZER:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;ROLE=CHAIR;ATTSTAT=ACCEPTED:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;RSVP=YES;TYPE=INDIVIDUAL:mailto:foo2@example.com
   DTSTAMP:19970611T190000Z
   DTSTART:19970701T180000Z
   DTEND:19970701T183000Z
   SUMMARY:Phone Conference
   UID:calsvr.example.com-8739701987387771
   ATTACH:cid:123456789@example.com
   SEQUENCE:0
   STATUS:CONFIRMED
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

   --boundary-example-1
   Content-Type: application/msword; name="FieldReport.doc"
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
   Content-Disposition: inline; filename="FieldReport.doc"
   Content-ID: &lt;123456789@example.com&gt;

   0M8R4KGxGuEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPgADAP7/CQAGAAAAAAAAAAABAAAARAAAAAAA
   AAAAEAAAQAAAAAEAAAD+////AAAAAEUAAAD/////////////////////////////////

   --boundary-example-1--

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.4" href="#section-4.4">4.4</a> Multiple Similar Components</span>

   Multiple iCalendar components of the same type can be included in the
   iCalendar object when the METHOD is the same for each component.

   From: foo1@example.com
   To: foo2@example.com
   Subject: Summer Company Holidays
   Mime-Version: 1.0
   Content-Type:text/calendar; method=PUBLISH; charset=US-ASCII
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
   Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="event.vcs"





<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 10]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-11" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   PRODID:-//ACME/DESKTOPCALENDAR//EN
   METHOD:PUBLISH
   VERSION:2.0
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ORGANIZER:MAILTO:FOO1@EXAMPLE.COM
   DTSTAMP:19970611T150000Z
   DTSTART:19970701T150000Z
   DTEND:19970701T230000Z
   SUMMARY:Company Picnic
   DESCRIPTION:Food and drink will be provided
   UID:CALSVR.EXAMPLE.COM-873970198738777-1
   SEQUENCE:0
   STATUS:CONFIRMED
   END:VEVENT
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ORGANIZER:MAILTO:FOO1@EXAMPLE.COM
   DTSTAMP:19970611T190000Z
   DTSTART:19970715T150000Z
   DTEND:19970715T230000Z
   SUMMARY:Company Bowling Tournament
   DESCRIPTION:We have 10 lanes reserved
   UID:CALSVR.EXAMPLE.COM-873970198738777-2
   SEQUENCE:0
   STATUS:CONFIRMED
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.5" href="#section-4.5">4.5</a> Multiple Mixed Components</span>

   Different component types must be encapsulated in separate iCalendar
   objects.

   From: foo1@example.com
   To: foo2@example.com
   Subject: Phone Conference
   Mime-Version: 1.0
   Content-Type:multipart/mixed;boundary="--FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C"

   This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

   ----FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C
   Content-Type:text/calendar; method=REQUEST; charset=US-ASCII
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
   Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="event1.vcs"






<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 11]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-12" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   PRODID:-//ACME/DesktopCalendar//EN
   METHOD:REQUEST
   VERSION:2.0
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ORGANIZER:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;ROLE=CHAIR;ATTSTAT=ACCEPTED:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;RSVP=YES;TYPE=INDIVIDUAL:mailto:foo2@example.com
   DTSTAMP:19970611T190000Z
   DTSTART:19970701T210000Z
   DTEND:19970701T230000Z
   SUMMARY:Phone Conference
   DESCRIPTION:Discuss what happened at the last meeting
   UID:calsvr.example.com-8739701987387772
   SEQUENCE:0
   STATUS:CONFIRMED
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

   ----FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C
   Content-Type:text/calendar; method=REQUEST; charset=US-ASCII
   Content-Transfer-Encoding:7bit
   Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="todo1.vcs"

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   PRODID:-//ACME/DesktopCalendar//EN
   METHOD:REQUEST
   VERSION:2.0
   BEGIN:VTODO
   DUE:19970701T090000-0700
   ORGANIZER:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;ROLE=CHAIR;ATTSTAT=ACCEPTED:mailto:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;RSVP=YES:mailto:foo2@example.com
   SUMMARY:Phone Conference
   DESCRIPTION:Discuss a new location for the company picnic
   UID:calsvr.example.com-td-8739701987387773
   SEQUENCE:0
   STATUS:NEEDS ACTION
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

   ----FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C









<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 12]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-13" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.6" href="#section-4.6">4.6</a> Detailed Components With An ATTACH Property</span>

   This example shows the format of a message containing a group meeting
   between three individuals. The multipart/related encapsulation is
   used because the iCalendar object contains an ATTACH property that
   uses a CID to reference the attachment.

   From: foo1@example.com
   MIME-Version: 1.0
   To: foo2@example.com,foo3@example.com
   Subject: REQUEST - Phone Conference
   Content-Type:multipart/related;boundary="--FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C"

   ----FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C
   Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
                 boundary="--00FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C00"

   ----00FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C00
   Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

   When: 7/1/1997 10:00PM PDT- 7/1/97 10:30 PM PDT
   Where:
   Organizer: foo1@example.com
   Summary: Let's discuss the attached document

   ----00FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C00

   Content-Type:text/calendar; method=REQUEST; charset=US-ASCII;
                    Component=vevent
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
   Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="event.vcs"

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   PRODID:-//ACME/DesktopCalendar//EN
   PROFILE:REQUEST
   PROFILE-VERSION:1.0
   VERSION:2.0
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ORGANIZER:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;ROLE=CHAIR;ATTSTAT=ACCEPTED:foo1@example.com
   ATTENDEE;RSVP=YES;TYPE=INDIVIDUAL:mailto:foo2@example.com
   ATTENDEE;RSVP=YES;TYPE=INDIVIDUAL:mailto:foo3@example.com
   DTSTAMP:19970611T190000Z
   DTSTART:19970621T170000Z
   DTEND:199706211T173000Z
   SUMMARY:Let's discuss the attached document
   UID:calsvr.example.com-873970198738777-8aa



<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 13]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-14" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   ATTACH:cid:calsvr.example.com-12345aaa
   SEQUENCE:0
   STATUS:CONFIRMED
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

   ----00FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C00

   ----FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C
   Content-Type: application/msword; name="FieldReport.doc"
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
   Content-Disposition: inline; filename="FieldReport.doc"
   Content-ID: &lt;calsvr.example.com-12345aaa&gt;


   R0lGODdhTAQZAJEAAFVVVd3d3e4AAP///ywAAAAATAQZAAAC/5yPOSLhD6OctNqLs94XqAG
   4kiW5omm6sq27gvH8kzX9o1y+s73/g8MCofEovGITCoxKMbyCR16cNSq9YrNarfcrvdriIH
   5LL5jE6rxc3G+v2cguf0uv2Oz+v38L7/DxgoOKjURnjIIbe3yNjo+AgZWYVIWWl5iZnJY6J.

   ----FEE3790DC7E35189CA67CE2C

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-5" href="#section-5">5</a> Recommended Practices</span>

   This section outlines a series of recommended practices when using a
   messaging transport to exchange iCalendar objects.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.1" href="#section-5.1">5.1</a> Use of Content and Message IDs</span>

   The [<a href="#ref-iCAL" title="&quot;Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar&quot;">iCAL</a>] specification makes frequent use of the URI for data types
   in properties such as "DESCRIPTION", "ATTACH", "CONTACT" and others.
   Two forms of URIs are Message ID (MID) and Content ID (CID). These
   are defined in [<a href="./rfc2111" title="&quot;Content-ID and Message-ID Uniform Resource Locators&quot;">RFC-2111</a>]. Although [<a href="./rfc2111" title="&quot;Content-ID and Message-ID Uniform Resource Locators&quot;">RFC-2111</a>] allows referencing
   messages or MIME body parts in other MIME entities or stores, it is
   strongly recommended that iMIP implementations include all referenced
   messages and body parts in a single MIME entity. Simply put, if an
   iCalendar object contains CID or MID references to other messages or
   body parts, implementations should ensure that these messages and/or
   body parts are transmitted with the iCalendar object. If they are not
   there is no guarantee that the receiving "CU" will have the access or
   the authorization to view those objects.











<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 14]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-15" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-6" href="#section-6">6</a> Bibliography</span>

   [<a id="ref-CHST">CHST</a>]     Character Sets, <a href="ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/character-sets">ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-</a>
              <a href="ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/character-sets">notes/iana/assignments/character-sets</a>

   [<a id="ref-iCAL">iCAL</a>]     Dawson, F. and D. Stenerson, "Internet Calendaring and
              Scheduling Core Object Specification - iCalendar", <a href="./rfc2445">RFC</a>
              <a href="./rfc2445">2445</a>, November 1998.

   [<a id="ref-iTIP">iTIP</a>]     Silverberg, S., Mansour, S., Dawson, F. and R. Hopson,
              "iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol
              (iTIP): Scheduling Events, Busy Time, To-dos and Journal
              Entries", <a href="./rfc2446">RFC 2446</a>, November 1998.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-822">RFC-822</a>]  Crocker, D., "Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet
              Text Messages", STD 11, <a href="./rfc822">RFC 822</a>, August 1982.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-1847">RFC-1847</a>] Galvin, J., Murphy, S., Crocker, S. and N. Freed,
              "Security Multiparts for MIME: Multipart/Signed and
              Multipart/Encrypted", <a href="./rfc1847">RFC 1847</a>, October 1995.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-2045">RFC-2045</a>] Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, "Multipurpose Internet Mail
              Extensions (MIME) - Part One: Format of Internet Message
              Bodies", <a href="./rfc2045">RFC 2045</a>, November 1996.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-2046">RFC-2046</a>] Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, "Multipurpose Internet Mail
              Extensions (MIME) - Part Two: Media Types", <a href="./rfc2046">RFC 2046</a>,
              November 1996.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-2047">RFC-2047</a>] Moore, K., "Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) -
              Part Three: Message Header Extensions for Non-ASCII Text",
              <a href="./rfc2047">RFC 2047</a>, November 1996.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-2048">RFC-2048</a>] Freed, N., Klensin, J. and J. Postel, "Multipurpose
              Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) - Part Four: Registration
              Procedures", <a href="./rfc2048">RFC 2048</a>, January 1997.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-2111">RFC-2111</a>] Levinson, E., "Content-ID and Message-ID Uniform Resource
              Locators", <a href="./rfc2111">RFC 2111</a>, March 1997.

   [<a id="ref-RFC-2119">RFC-2119</a>] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/bcp/bcp14">BCP 14</a>, <a href="./rfc2119">RFC 2119</a>, March 1997.









<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 15]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-16" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-7" href="#section-7">7</a> Authors' Addresses</span>

   The following address information is provided in a vCard v3.0,
   Electronic Business Card, format.

   BEGIN:VCARD
   VERSION:3.0
   N:Dawson;Frank
   FN:Frank Dawson
   ORG:Lotus Development Corporation
   ADR;TYPE=WORK,POSTAL,PARCEL:;;6544 Battleford
    Drive;Raleigh;NC;27613-3502;USA
   TEL;TYPE=WORK,MSG:+1-919-676-9515
   TEL;TYPE=WORK,FAX:+1-919-676-9564
   EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET:fdawson@earthlink.net
   URL:http://home.earthlink.net/~fdawson
   END:VCARD

   BEGIN:VCARD
   VERSION:3.0
   N:Mansour;Steve
   FN:Steve Mansour
   ORG:Netscape Communications Corporation
   ADR;TYPE=WORK,POSTAL,PARCEL:;;501 East Middlefield Road;Mountain
    View;CA;94043;USA
   TEL;TYPE=WORK,MSG:+1-650-937-2378
   TEL;TYPE=WORK,FAX:+1-650-937-2103
   EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET:sman@netscape.com
   END:VCARD

   BEGIN:VCARD
   VERSION:3.0
   N:Silverberg;Steve
   FN:Steve Silverberg
   ORG:Microsoft Corporation
   ADR;TYPE=WORK,POSTAL,PARCEL:;;One Microsoft Way;
    Redmond;WA;98052-6399;USA
   TEL;TYPE=WORK,MSG:+1-425-936-9277
   TEL;TYPE=WORK,FAX:+1-425-936-8019
   EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET:stevesil@Microsoft.com
   END:VCARD










<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 16]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-17" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


   The iCalendar Object is a result of the work of the Internet
   Engineering Task Force Calendaring and scheduling Working Group. The
   chairmen of that working group are:

   BEGIN:VCARD
   VERSION:3.0
   N:Ganguly;Anik
   FN:Anik Ganguly
   ORG:Open Text Inc.
   ADR;TYPE=WORK,POSTAL,PARCEL:;Suite 101;38777 West Six Mile Road;
    Livonia;MI;48152;USA
   TEL;TYPE=WORK,MSG:+1-734-542-5955
   EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET:ganguly@acm.org
   END:VCARD

   BEGIN:VCARD
   VERSION:3.0
   N:Moskowitz;Robert
   FN:Robert Moskowitz
   EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET:rgm-ietf@htt-consult.com
   END:VCARD






























<span class="grey">Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 17]</span></pre>
<hr class='noprint'/><!--NewPage--><pre class='newpage'><span id="page-18" ></span>
<span class="grey"><a href="./rfc2447">RFC 2447</a>                          iMIP                     November 1998</span>


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

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998).  All Rights Reserved.

   This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
   others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
   or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
   and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
   kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
   included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
   document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
   the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
   Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
   developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
   copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
   followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
   English.

   The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
   revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.

   This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
   TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
   BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
   HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
   MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
























Dawson, et. al.             Standards Track                    [Page 18]
</pre>