These are really comments more properly directed to the patent policy in BCP79. Please watch out for the BCP79bis document that will (hopefully) be released soon for comment, and feel free to make these suggestions then. As for Note Well, its language really can't deviate from the actual policy that it points to, so the opportunities for substantive tweaking are limited. Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 8, 2016, at 9:31 AM, Keith Moore <moore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > I think the note well needs to make it clear that the patent policy applies to _any_ discussion that might influence the decisions that an author or wg or iesg makes about a document - whether or not it occurs in a wg meeting or on a mailing list. > > Also, patent infringement is not a matter of "awareness" since it's a gray area. And someone should have to disclose a patent held by his employer even if his employer isn't "sponsoring" his IETF participation. > > I would say instead something like "if you have reason to believe that a contribution to the IETF is covered by patents or patent applications that are owned by, controlled by, or would benefit, you, your employer, or your sponsor, you must disclose that fact, or not participate in any discussion regarding the contribution with anyone who could influence the content of the document or whether it is approved." > > Keith >