HP Patent Grant: Conditional Grant of Rights to Specific Hewlett-Packard Patents In Conjunction With the Internet Engineering Task Force's Internet-Standard Network Management Framework
A conditional Hewlett-Packard patent grant for certain standards-track network management modules.
McAnally, G., Gilbert, D., and J. Flick, "Conditional Grant of Rights to Specific Hewlett-Packard Patents In Conjunction With the Internet Engineering Task Force's Internet-Standard Network Management Framework", RFC 1988, DOI 10.17487/RFC1988, August 1996, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1988>.
@misc{rfc1988,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 1988,
howpublished = {RFC 1988},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC1988},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1988},
author = {G. McAnally and D. Gilbert and J. Flick},
title = {{Conditional Grant of Rights to Specific Hewlett-Packard Patents In Conjunction With the Internet Engineering Task Force's Internet-Standard Network Management Framework}},
pagetotal = 2,
year = 1996,
month = aug,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group G. McAnally
Request for Comments: 1988 D. Gilbert
Category: Informational J. Flick
Hewlett Packard Company
August 1996
Conditional Grant of Rights to Specific Hewlett-Packard Patents
In Conjunction With the Internet Engineering Task Force's
Internet-Standard Network Management Framework
Status of This Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo
does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
this memo is unlimited.
Note:
This document is NOT a standard. It is an announcement to interested
parties of a conditional grant by the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) of
certain rights to use autotopology network management technology
covered by specific HP patents in conjunction with the Internet
Engineering Task Force's (IETF's) Internet-standard network
management framework.
Purpose
This grant is made to help facilitate inclusion of certain patented
search address technology covering network device mapping in IETF
standards-track Management Information Base (MIB) modules. HP is
offering this search address technology to the IETF as a technique
for mapping network devices. It should be noted that the
confirmatory license mentioned is optional, since the grant of rights
is automatic.
A Grant of Rights to Hewlett-Packard US Patents 5,293,635 and 5,421,024
HP hereby covenants that it will not assert any claims in US Patents
5,293,635, 5,421,024, any continuations, divisions, or
continuations-in-part of either, or any non-US counterparts of any of
the foregoing against any party that makes, uses, sells, imports, or
offers for sale, an implementation of an IETF standards-track MIB
module that includes HP's contributed search address technology, or
any derivative of that contribution, provided that the MIB module is
employed to implement the Internet-standard network management
framework. Such grant of rights is limited in that it does not
include a right to incorporate such HP search address technology into
proprietary MIB modules.
This grant of rights will permanently terminate with respect to any
party (and to any subsidiary of a party) that asserts a patent it
owns or controls, either directly or indirectly, against HP or any of
its subsidiaries for implementation of, or operation of any system
utilizing, search address technology. The termination of rights will
occur as of the date the patent is asserted against HP.
A written confirmation of this grant, and/or a license under any
other HP patent under HP's then-current terms, conditions, and
royalty rates, can be obtained by sending a request to:
Patent Counsel
Hewlett-Packard Company
3000 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304
USA
Security Considerations
Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
Authors' Addresses
Gary McAnally
Hewlett-Packard Company
8000 Foothills Blvd.
Roseville, CA 95747
USA
Douglas Gilbert
Hewlett-Packard Company
3000 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304
USA
John Flick
Hewlett-Packard Company
8000 Foothills Blvd. M.S. 5556
Roseville, CA 95747-5556
USA
Phone: (916) 785-4018
EMail: johnf@hprnd.rose.hp.com
ISO Plain Language
On this page
§1A Legal Notice, Not a Technical Standard
RFC 1988 is an announcement by Hewlett-Packard (HP) about a conditional grant of rights to use patented network management technology with the IETF's Internet-standard network management framework. The memo explicitly says it is not a standard.
The technology is called search address and is described as a method for mapping network devices. HP offered it to help include the technology in IETF standards-track Management Information Base (MIB) modules. The memo says the confirmatory license mentioned in it is optional because the grant is automatic.
This RFC records a company's statement about patent rights, not rules for how a network operates. It concerns one device-mapping technique and certain IETF network management modules.
§2Which Implementations the Grant Covers
HP promises not to assert claims in US Patents 5,293,635 and 5,421,024, their listed continuations and related applications, or their non-US counterparts against a party that makes, uses, sells, imports, or offers an implementation of an IETF standards-track MIB module containing HP's contributed search address technology or a derivative.
The module must be used to implement the Internet-standard network management framework. The grant does not include a right to put the technology into proprietary MIB modules.
The promise applies only to implementations of qualifying IETF standards-track MIB modules used with the Internet-standard network management framework. It does not cover proprietary MIB modules.
§3When the Grant Ends
The grant permanently terminates for a party, and its subsidiaries, if that party asserts a patent it owns or controls against HP or an HP subsidiary concerning implementation or operation of a system using search address technology. The termination takes effect on the date the patent is asserted.
The memo says a party may request written confirmation of the grant or a license under another HP patent under HP's then-current terms, conditions, and royalty rates.
If a party asserts its own patent against HP over a system using search address technology, this grant ends for that party and its subsidiaries. The memo also gives a contact for requesting confirmation or another patent license.