Hi, I have a basic question relating to patents and IETF. Assume that i have a nifty idea on how i can speed up, lets say, a database exchange in OSPF. My doubt is that why should i submit an IETF draft describing this, which can later become an RFC, when i can very well patent this idea? I understand that if i submit this to IETF, then there will be an RFC and all vendors will come out with inter-operable implementations. However, if i dont give it to IETF and rather submit a patent, i can do very well for the vendor that i work for. All customers using this vendor's boxes will now have access to patented database exchange in OSPF, which will effectively mean more business for this vendor. So, the question is, what is the motivation for somebody to write an internet-draft when the person can file a patent? I spoke to several people offline and i couldnt get any good answers. The typical response was that most ISPs prefer multiple vendors, and a patented solution will cause issues as the other vendor will not have that support. Is this the only reason? Thanks, Abhishek _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf