[This letter of intent was sent to the security-services email distribution list by an
RSA representative on 22-Apr-2002. Click here to go to that
message in the security-services list archives. This letter of intent is superseded by the letter
dated 20-Jan-2003, available here.]
To: OASIS Executive Director
From: Margaret K. Seif, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, RSA Security Inc.
Date: April 22, 2002
Subject: IPR Letter of Intent
RSA Security Inc. ("RSA") is the assignee of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,085,320 and 6,189,098,
both entitled "Client/Server Protocol for Proving Authenticity". RSA believes that these two patents
(collectively, "the RSA Patents") may be relevant to practicing certain operational modes of the OASIS
Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) specifications.
In the interest of encouraging deployment of these technologies, RSA is willing to grant
non-exclusive, royalty-free licenses on a non-discriminatory basis under the RSA Patents to make, use and
sell products conforming to the SAML specifications ("Licensed Products"), under a reciprocal arrangement
where licensees agree to grant RSA comparable royalty-free licenses under any patent rights they may
assert with respect to the SAML specifications. The reciprocity of the licensing is limited to only that
intellectual property required to implement the assertions, protocols, bindings, and profiles defined by
the SAML specifications.
The license terms for the RSA Patents will permit end-users to use the Licensed Products.
However, in the event that a Licensed Product is a product (such as a toolkit product or operating system
service) that is used to develop other products, the licensee of the RSA Patents must require users of
the Licensed Products to obtain a license directly from RSA for the RSA Patents. RSA will grant such
licenses on the same royalty-free terms described above.
RSA welcomes comments on this proposal and looks forward to further collaboration with
OASIS.
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