********************************************************************** FTSC FIDONET TECHNICAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE ********************************************************************** Publication: FTA-1007 Revision: 2 Title: Intellectual Property Rights Author: Administrator Revision Date: 17 January 1998 Expiry Date: Permanent Document ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents: 1. General Policy 2. Confidentiality Obligations 3. Rights and Permissions 4. Warrant ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Status of this document ----------------------- This document is an FTSC Administrative document (FTA), and specifies a Fidonet Best Current Practice for the Fidonet community. Distribution of this document is unlimited. Abstract -------- This document specifies how the FTSC handles intellectual property rights. 1. General Policy ----------------- In all matters of intellectual property rights and procedures, the intention is to benefit the Fidonet community and the public at large, while respecting the legitimate rights of others. 2. Confidentiality Obligations ------------------------------ No contribution that is subject to any requirement of confidentiality or any restriction on its dissemination may be considered in any part of the Fidonet standards process, and there must be no assumption of any confidentiality obligation with respect to any such contribution. 3. Rights and Permissions ------------------------- In the course of standards work, the FTSC receives contributions in various forms and from many persons. To best facilitate the dissemination of these contributions, it is necessary to understand any intellectual property rights relating to the contributions. 3.1. All Contributions ---------------------- By submission of a contribution, each person actually submitting the contribution is deemed to agree to the following terms and conditions on his own behalf, on behalf of the organization (if any) he represents and on behalf of the owners of any propriety rights in the contribution. Where a submission identifies contributors in addition to the contributor(s) who provide the actual submission, the actual submitter(s) represent that each other named contributor was made aware of and agreed to accept the same terms and conditions on his own behalf, on behalf of any organization he may represent and any known owner of any proprietary rights in the contribution. 1. Some works (for example works of the U.S. Government) are not subject to copyright. However, to the extent that the submission is or may be subject to copyright, the contributor, the organization he represents (if any) and the owners of any proprietary rights in the contribution, grant an unlimited perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide right and license to the FTSC under any copyrights in the contribution. This license includes the right to copy, publish and distribute the contribution in any way, and to prepare derivative works that are based on or incorporate all or part of the contribution, the license to such derivative works to be of the same scope as the license of the original contribution. 2. The contributor acknowledges that the FTSC have no duty to publish or otherwise use or disseminate any contribution. 3. The contributor grants permission to reference the name(s) and address(es) of the contributor(s) and of the organization(s) he represents (if any). 4. The contributor represents that contribution properly acknowledge major contributors. 5. The contributor, the organization (if any) he represents and the owners of any proprietary rights in the contribution, agree that no information in the contribution is confidential and that the FTSC may freely disclose any information in the contribution. 6. The contributor represents that he has disclosed the existence of any proprietary or intellectual property rights in the contribution that are reasonably and personally known to the contributor. The contributor does not represent that he personally knows of all potentially pertinent proprietary and intellectual property rights owned or claimed by the organization he represents (if any) or third parties. 7. The contributor represents that there are no limits to the contributor's ability to make the grants acknowledgments and agreements above that are reasonably and personally known to the contributor. 4. Warrant ---------- By ratifying this document the FTSC warrants that it will not inhibit the open and free access to FTSC documents for which license and right have been assigned according to the procedures set forth in this section, including drafts, proposals and standards. This warrant is perpetual and will not be revoked by the FTSC or its successors or assigns. A. References ------------- [RFC2026] "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3". Scott Bradner. October 1996. B. Acknowledgements ------------------- This document is based on extracts from the original text of RFC2026 by Scott Bradner. Please read that document for further acknowledgements. C. Author contact data ---------------------- Odinn Sorensen Fidonet: 2:236/77 E-mail: odinn@goldware.dk WWW: http://www.goldware.dk D. History ---------- Rev.1, 19971120: First release as draft. Rev.2, 19980117: First release as official FTA. No changes from the draft. **********************************************************************