🚀 go-pugleaf

DISCLAIMER:  The following information is provided as a public
service.  It is explicitly NOT a commercial advertisement, and
does not in any way represent, express or imply any policy or
viewpoint of SRI International.

First, it is illegal to "make, use, or sell" a patented device
without a license.  PGP's disclaimer does not protect anyone making,
distributing, or using PGP.  PKP owns the patent and sells licenses
to companies who want to make and sell products that use RSA and
other public-key cryptography.  PGP is not licensed.  A license to
the maker of PGP has always been (and still is) available, but it
would not be free (which would be unfair to other licensees, whose
licenses were not free).

Second, PGP may be illegal with respect to US export law.  The
author states in the documentation that he "guided" its development
overseas.  This might be construed an export of "technical know-how"
under the ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations).  By
distributing or using PGP 2.0, you may be involved directly or
indirectly in an illegal act.  Ignorance before the law, of course,
is no excuse.  It's the responsibility of every one to seek their
own legal advice.  I strongly urge potential PGP users to have their
company's lawyers read the ITAR and read the PGP statement before
making a decision.  It could be a serious mistake to assume that
because this software "appeared" in the US or elsewhere, it and those
who use it are not at any risk of violating export law.

The risks to those actively promoting PGP, and/or distributing it, are
of course, greater than those for simple users, but even simple users
would do well to seek an acceptable alternative, such as RIPEM.
RIPEM is built on a piece of software called RSAREF.  RSAREF contains
an embedded patent license, and is perfectly legal to use for
non-commercial purposes.  Any software whatsoever can be built on
RSAREF, even PGP-like programs, and distributed freely.  RSAREF does
carry strong restrictions on export.  RIPEM source and executables can
be found using archie.



-- 
Peter K. Boucher
--
RIPEM public key available upon request.