ebXML CPPA Technical Committee Teleconference
(Voting)
October 25, 2002
Attendees
Jamie Clark
Tony Fletcher
Brian Hayes
Kevin Liu
Dale Moberg
Ed Mooney
Himagiri Mukkamala
Peter Ogden
Marty Sachs
Susy Struble
Tony Weida
Minutes
Announcements
Dale announced that IBM has made a new IPR statement available:
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/ebxml-cppa/ibm_ipr_statement.shtml
Dale noted that the WSSQOP group still seems to have some interest in considering how to reuse portions of the CPPA specification. Discussion is needed with the Web Services Security TC on how to reconcile the envelope formatting of XML DSIG Signatures as used in MSG 2.0 with the more detached style used in web services. Scheduling a call has been difficult. Those interested in participating should let Dale know.
Subteam Reports
Negotiation: Marty reported that Jean provided some additional material on the message content. Also, he sent a draft specification to the negotiation list but has seen no response yet. Marty will try to establish a deadline.
Transactions: Tony F. stated that he's using the CPPA specification as a template for his document, has sent an initial version to Dale, and hopes to circulate it for wider comment in the next week or two.
Discussion
We discussed the following (revised) draft statement on IPR that Jamie previously posted to the list:
DRAFT STATEMENT
The ebXML CPPA Technical Committee unanimously approved its 2.[0] specification for submission to the OASIS membership as a candidate standard. We have no reservations regarding the substantive technical quality of the work. However, in the midst of our own review process, we received an unexpected IPR declaration of patent claims made by IBM in March 2002. Substantial public reactions and several rounds of discussion followed. IBM issued and posted an improved revised declaration on May 16, 2002, and in response to further questions, provided supplemental explanatory text on May 30th.
We have made significant progress in discussions with IBM and the ebXML community, with effective assistance from OASIS staff. Ultimately we voted unanimously on May 31 to advance the specification, based on our assessment that the issues raised by the claims are being negotiated appropriately, and that IBM is working with OASIS in good faith to attempt to define final terms satisfactory for the broad user community intended for ebXML. However, not all of the issues are yet resolved. Our vote to advance the standard does not imply an evaluation of IBM's claims, nor an endorsement or guarantee of the commercial suitability of the eventual IPR terms.
The TC is concerned about several aspects of the May 2002 IPR declarations. Earlier disclosure of the claims, which existed during the phase 1 ebXML work but were not disclosed until after its approval, might have permitted easier resolution. The May 2002 declarations retain a written license application requirement (which is not always included in similar circumstances), and do not permit development of derivative works from the specification. These strictures have caused several current significant open source development efforts to postpone work, and may impair ebXML toolmaking generally. EbXML's original requirements focused on wide deployment and SME needs, and sought to create freely available and unencumbered technologies. We recommend that OASIS review the suitability of encumbered standards, types of implementation licenses, and requirements for timely claim disclosure, in standards such as ebXML that are intended for wide public adoption.
DRAFT
Regarding IBM's new IPR statement, Marty remarked that the CPL is now offered for open source; license terms posted earlier continue to apply in other cases. Jamie pointed out that IBM, in response to Dale and Hima, previously offered to make the CPPA material generally available to the JSR under terms of the CPL. He's inquired with some open source folks as to whether they find it acceptable but hasn't yet received a response. His initial reaction is that CPL is a fairly conventional open source license, as certified as an open source license gets -- having gone through OSI, and seems to be a plausible solution if extended to all users of CPPA. He thinks they've come up with a pretty adequate solution. In his draft resolution, Jamie had also sought a statement that we weren't necessarily endorsing or validating the patent claims, which came after the CPPA team's work was substantially completed. Marty responded that standard OASIS boilerplate covers that. Jamie responded that considering the "unfortunate timing" of the patent claims disclosure, making a statement that expresses concern might not be a bad thing. Susy stated that some OASIS members are keen to have OASIS clean up its IPR process. In response to Hima's request, Dale will forward the URL for the IBM statement to the JSR 157 mailing list. Jamie observed that IBM seems to have addressed the items of concern that we raised, including a perpetual and irrevocable royalty-free license, along with permission to develop open source tools (with the caveat that there hasn't been time to review the statement carefully yet). He added that although it was not on the original "shopping list," many people would still prefer that the technology be made freely available and unencumbered. Thus the license seems to address our minimalist concerns, but not more. Hima commented that implementers of CPPA open source must apply for a license; creators of derivative works need not. He added that commercial implementations in compliance with the JSR would be license free; Dale agreed. Susy said that one of the initial tenets of ebXML overall was unencumbered technology. For purposes of discussion, Jamie moved to adopt the proposal; Tony F. seconded. Jamie indicated that the motion doesn't have the same drive behind it that it did when the statement was drafted. He also reminded us that the OASIS voting period is still open. Dale pointed out that if withdrawn, the motion could be taken up again in the future. Susy opined that it's important for ebXML to follow through on its promises of unencumbered technology, but there are other ways to see that happen. Jamie observed that the draft might well have helped to spur negotiation on IP restrictions. Following a request for comments, Jamie withdrew the motion.
Dale reported that CPPA 2.0 is about two votes short of OASIS approval (assuming 10 percent don't disapprove). He urged everyone to seek his or her company's vote.
Next Meeting
There will be another teleconference next week on November 1.
Metadata
Please send additions and corrections to Tony Weida (rweida@hotmail.com).
Respectfully submitted,
Tony Weida
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