Re: Copyright status of early RFCs

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Carl Malamud <carl@xxxxxxxxx> writes:

> I thought that wide replication of the series was the whole
> point.  If there are issues, I thought they had to do with derivative
> works.  For example, a particularly risk-averse author of a new
> book might query whether "publication of 3 random pages from each
> RFC" falls within the scope of allowable actions.

It's pretty clear/accepted that RFCs can be copied/reproduced freely
_in their entirety_, at least those that say "distribution unlimited".

What is much less clear is the issues surrounding excerpts, or
derivative works. The original query pretty clearly asked/asserted
whether older RFCs were "in the public domain".  That's pretty far
removed from "republication in their entirety".

> I would take the position that checking with authors is not necessary
> because permission has already been granted for replication of unmodified
> RFCs.  It would not seem a stretch for the IETF chair, the IAB, and
> the RFC Editor to take a similar position.

IANAL, but if you've followed discussions in places like the IPR WG,
it doesn't take much to conclude that this is a complicated space in
which rules interpreted by real lawyers play a big role.

Thomas

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