Licensing Question on RIPEM/PGP

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2 total messages Started by rick Tue, 12 Jan 1993 14:14

#60

Author: rick
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 14:14

18 lines
1149 bytes

I have been following some of the threads here and I am trying to discern
what the licensing differences are between RIPEM and PGP.

As I understand it PGP is not being licensed by PKP although if you
are a federal employee you can still use the software because
uncle Sam funded development. This is in the US, and these restrictions
aren't necessarily true overseas. Has any of this changed?

I have been following the RIPEM stuff for a couple of days
and it seems it is being licensed in the US. Is this true? 
If so why are  licenses being issued for RIPEM and not PGP?
Assuming the above hasn't changed.

If someone could explain this I would be thankful. 

-- 
Rick Weldon     I-NET Inc. (Pentagon, 7TH Com Group)
E-mail: rick@hq.af.mil

Re: Licensing Question on RIPEM/PGP

#62

Author: David Sternlight
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 19:47

48 lines
2632 bytes

This response is based on the legal situation as I understand it. Others
may respond based on their personal advocacies or on how they think
things SHOULD BE.

In article <15948@hq.hq.af.mil> rick@hq.af.mil writes:
>I have been following some of the threads here and I am trying to discern
>what the licensing differences are between RIPEM and PGP.
>
>As I understand it PGP is not being licensed by PKP although if you
>are a federal employee you can still use the software because
>uncle Sam funded development. This is in the US, and these restrictions
>aren't necessarily true overseas. Has any of this changed?

This is not quite correct. PGP2.x was written in Europe, and thus
requires an ITAR license to import. None has been granted. This
is quite separate from patent issues.
>
>I have been following the RIPEM stuff for a couple of days
>and it seems it is being licensed in the US. Is this true? 
>If so why are  licenses being issued for RIPEM and not PGP?
>Assuming the above hasn't changed.

The ITAR license mentioned above is given by the U.S. government
and relates to the Munitions laws. The license you mention for
RIPEM is a license to use PKP's patents with respect to RIPEM,
and is given by RSA Inc. which makes available a set of routines,
RSAREF, which use the patented technology. That is a private
license under the Patent laws and has nothing to do with the
Government license under Munitions laws. Thus far, RSA/PKP
have refused to give a patent license for PGP. Although
the U.S. Government does not require a patent license to use
the RSA techniques used in PGP, PGP also uses IDEA, a Swiss
crypto system. To import IDEA requires the Government
license (nothing to do with RSA Inc., PKP, or RIPEM/RSAREF).

I've had e-mail from other Government employees, who use RIPEM
and say it's more than their job's worth to get involved with PGP.
>
>If someone could explain this I would be thankful. 
>
>-- 
>Rick Weldon     I-NET Inc. (Pentagon, 7TH Com Group)
>E-mail: rick@hq.af.mil

-- 
David Sternlight
RIPEM Public Key on server  --  Consider it an envelope for your e-mail

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