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IBM OASIS ebXML Intellectual Property Disclosure, May 16, 2002
IBM, as an OASIS ebXML specification development participant, supports a full disclosure
policy for essential published patent applications and issued patents, and an acknowledgement
policy for potentially essential unpublished patent applications.
IBM intellectual property disclosures are based upon the working knowledge of those
individuals involved with the respective Technical Committee and do not represent the results
of an IBM patent portfolio search.
At this time, IBM believes the following patent may be essential to compliant
implementations of OASIS ebXML Collaboration Protocol Profiles (CPP's) and Collaboration
Protocol Agreements (CPA's) specifications.
- IBM US Patent 6,148,290 (Service Contract for Managing Service Systems, issued
November, 2000, to Asit Dan & Francis Parr)
IBM believes it has an unpublished patent application, potentially essential to the OASIS
ebXML Collaboration Protocol Profiles (CPP's) and Collaboration Protocol Agreements (CPA's)
specifications under development. IBM is unable to provide more specific information
regarding this unpublished patent application, until such time as the application is
published or the patent is issued. (When and if the unpublished patent application becomes
published, IBM will be able to provide this documentation to the OASIS Technical
Committee.)
IBM will, upon written request, provide a nonexclusive, royalty free patent license, with
other reasonable terms and conditions for ALL patents issued to IBM which contain essential
claims and for which IBM is able to provide patent licenses (including the issued patent and
unpublished patent application disclosed above), for the OASIS ebXML Collaboration Protocol
Profiles (CPP's) and Collaboration Protocol Agreements (CPA's) Versions 1 and 2
specifications. This patent license is available to all entities willing to grant IBM a
reciprocal license.
Any party wishing to request a patent license, in support of OASIS ebXML CPP and CPA
Versions 1 & 2 specifications,
Should write to:
IBM Director of Intellectual Property & Licensing
IBM Corporation
North Castle Drive, Armonk, N.Y., 10504
Or fax to:
IBM Director of Intellectual Property & Licensing
(914) 765-4420
Submitted by Chuck Adams, Program Director of Standards, Intellectual
Property & Licensing, IBM Corporation
wcadams@us.ibm.com, 16 May 2002
Statement from IBM, 30 May 2002, to answer questions regarding the 16 May 2002 IP
disclosure:
To ebXML "Collaboration Protocol Profile and Agreement" interested parties:
Recently, questions have arisen, indicating potential misunderstandings about IBM's recent
patent disclosure and license offer. The following responses are offered to address these
questions.
Q) Why is IBM disclosing patents and offering a license?
A) The ebXML effort operates under the OASIS intellectual property rules. According to
these rules, IBM provided the CPPA related patent disclosures and the supporting licensing
information. It was an IBM business decision to provide this license with royalty-free
terms.
Q) Is the IBM license "free for all time"?
A) YES. Patents are granted and remain enforceable until they are either abandoned or
until 20 years from the original application date. The license granted by IBM, for the CPPA
specifications, is for the full relevant patent term or for as long as required to implement
the specifications, whichever occurs first.
Q) Is the license only provided to those entities holding patents and thus able to
reciprocate?
A) NO. You do not have to be a holder of a patent or patent application to receive this
royalty free license. The license is available to any entity desiring to implement the
specifications. The reciprocity term requires an entity, currently holding or subsequently
obtaining essential patents or applications, to agree to license those patents and
applications to IBM under the same terms and conditions, thus the term "reciprocal."
Q) Why did IBM provide a license to ALL patents required by the specifications?
A) IBM wanted to remove any potential confusion regarding implementation of the
specification. Since a complete patent search and analysis of a large portfolio is very time
consuming, IBM wanted to provide the assurance that our portfolio would not impede adoption
of the specifications.
Q) Why did IBM limit the patent license to V1 and V2 of the specification?
A) IBM commits to continue to provide a royalty free license to the already identified
patents for future versions of these CPPA specifications. Beyond that, it is not possible to
know in advance the full scope and details of future specifications or OASIS patent policies.
Neither IBM nor anyone else can commit to much else at this time. Given IBM's clear
statements about the importance of OASIS in the global standardization process, IBM will
continue to evaluate specifications and policies as they evolve and / or develop.
Submitted by Chuck Adams, Program Director of Standards, Intellectual Property &
Licensing, IBM Corporation
wcadams@us.ibm.com, 30 May 2002
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