Subject: Re: [tlp-interest] Question

From: RFC Editor <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2010 19:13:17 -0700

Hi Victor,

We are forwarding your question to the [email-masked] mail
list, as requested at http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info/ (and CCing
the IETF Trust).  We believe the Trust will be able to provide you
with guidance on this issue.

Thank you.

RFC Editor

On Sat, Jun 05, 2010 at 10:18:13PM -0300, victor nunes wrote:
> Hello, I write to express my sincere frustration about the material that
> provides the IETF regarding the possibility of copies of the RFC. I would
> like a definitive answer.
> 
> What is the permission that allows the IETF to copy and distribute the RFC
> in part or in full?
> 
> Hundreds of books that are explaining about the TCP / IP architecture and
> its various protocols outlined by the RFCs, IETF need to ask permission?
> 
> I could copy all RFCs to my computer?
> 
> Anyway, that's it, I would greatly appreciate an answer.
> 
> Thanks, Victor
> -- 
> ?Encarada do ponto de vista da juventude, a vida parece um futuro
> indefinidamente longo, ao passo que, na velhice, ela parece um passado
> deveras curto. Assim, a vida no seu in?cio se apresenta do mesmo modo
> que as coisas quando as olhamos atrav?s de um bin?culo usado ao contr?rio;
> mas, ao
> seu final, ela se parece com as coisas  tal qual s?o vistas quando o
> bin?culo
> ? usado de modo normal. Um homem precisa ter envelhecido e vivido
> bastante para perceber como a vida ? curta?.
> 
>         (Poema de Arthur Schopenhauer)

---

From: Marshall Eubanks <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 13:07:10 -0400

Dear Victor;

>> like a definitive answer.

I would recommend reading the relevant FAQ

http://trustee.ietf.org/docs/IETF-Copyright-FAQ.pdf

and the Trust Legal Provisions (TLP) itself

http://trustee.ietf.org/docs/IETF-Trust-License-Policy.pdf

as well as RFC 5377 / 5378 if these seem inadequate.

>> What is the permission that allows the IETF to copy and distribute  

Note : I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, nor does it  
supersede or override anything in the TLP or RFC 5377 / 5378 !

Long standing IETF policy is encapsulated in the Note Well; any input  
is an "IETF Contribution," which requires giving some rights over to  
the IETF Trust (or, previously, to other organizations which have now  
conveyed their rights to the Trust). From the Note Well :

       Any submission to the IETF intended by the Contributor for  
publication as all or part of an IETF Internet-Draft or RFC and any  
statement
       made within the context of an IETF activity is considered an  
"IETF Contribution".

Through the Note Well and the document submission process, the IETF  
Trust thus gains certain rights in IETF documents, and rights in older  
documents subject to older Note Wells have been transferred to it.

While it may not be clear exactly what rights the Trust holds in any  
given older document,  I have been informed by our Counsel that the  
Trust has the right to license RFCs for IETF use (as the rights to do  
this were demanded by 5378 and its predecessors).

 From the TLP :

"License For Use Within the IETF Standards Process.  The IETF Trust  
hereby
grants to each participant in the IETF Standards Process, to the  
greatest extent that it is permitted
to do so, a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide right and license  
under all copyrights and
rights of authors granted to the IETF Trust:

   i. to copy, publish, display and distribute IETF Contributions and  
IETF
Documents, in whole or in part, as part of the IETF Standards Process,  
and

   ii. to translate IETF Contributions and IETF Documents, in whole or  
part,
into languages other than English as part of the IETF Standards  
Process, and ..."

What the policy of the IETF does not generally do is allow you to make  
derivative works outside of the IETF process. (In other words, you can
put RFC XYZ or I-D ABC on your web site if you want, but you cannot  
make changes without either going to the Trust or going through the  
process.) This policy substantially predates both the Trust and RFCs  
5377 / 5378.

The other RFC streams use an even less restrictive license policy, and  
so you can copy alternate stream documents as well. See the TLP for  
more details.

>> its various protocols outlined by the RFCs, IETF need to ask  

If they simply copy the RFCs, they need not in my opinion and  
generally do not as a matter of fact.

>> I could copy all RFCs to my computer?

Sure.

>> Anyway, that's it, I would greatly appreciate an answer.

Hope this helps. The license situation may be unclear for some early  
documents, although it is reasonable to assume that there is the right  
to make copies. If you have concerns about specific documents please  
let us know.

Regards
Marshall

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