Security Innovation

From: [email protected]
To: Patrick Lenz

Hello,

NTRU is not a public domain algorithm and is not to be freely distributed as
indicated in this project description. Please refer to US patents:

PAT. NO. Title
1 7,308,097 Digital signature and authentication method and apparatus
2 7,031,468 Speed enhanced cryptographic method and apparatus
3 6,959,085 Secure user identification based on ring homomorphisms
4 6,298,137 Ring-based public key cryptosystem method
5 6,081,597 Public key cryptosystem method and apparatus

... plus corresponding patents world wide. Of these, the code certainly
infringes 6,081,597 and possibly 7.031,468 and 7,308,097.

We would appreciate your removing this project from the public domain
immediately.


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From: Prashand Gupta
Sent: 2/6/2011 9:42:06 PM
To: [email protected]

Dear Mr Jenney;

may I point out that source code is not patentable.
My project contains only source code (and a third party library), so I don't believe there is a patent issue here.
Thank you,

Prashand


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From: Pete Jenney
Sent: 2/7/2011 2:24:48 PM
To: Prashand Gupta

Mr. Gupta,

Thank you for responding. Your project implements the NTRU algorithms which are intellectual property and patented globally.  It is not in the public domain.  If you wish to license the patents for your project we would be happy to discuss it.  Intellectual property licensing is a good portion of our business and we do have lawyers who can and will discuss it with you should you desire further information regarding the law.

Thank you in advance for complying with international patent and intellectual property rules.

Best regards,


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From: Prashand Gupta 	Date: 2/7/2011 3:14:17 PM
To: [email protected]

Dear Mr Jenney;

thank you for your offer. I would be interested to hear your legal team's take on the patentability of source code and how it pertains to my project.
If you could have them contact me, that would be most appreciated.
Thank you,

Prashand


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From: Pete Jenney
Sent: 2/7/2011 5:36:12 PM
To: Prashand Gupta

Dear Mr. Gupta,

It's not the source code but the algorithms; and that the algorithms are patented and _not_ released to the Public Domain.

I'll point you to the US Patent and Trademark office and their description of IP Law and Policy (http://www.uspto.gov/ip/rules/index.jsp)  Its a good read and there's a boatload of information on what patents are all about.

Patent attorneys don't have a "take" on IP patents and licensing, it their business. If you'd really like to speak to our patent attorney's, please provide a phone number and complete contact information.  They will assume its a discovery call and will present you with references to the law and options for licensing the patents for use in your applications, and the  etc.


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From: Prashand Gupta
Sent: 2/8/2011 2:39:58 AM
To: [email protected]

Dear Mr Jenney;

I don't mean disrespect, but perhaps it is you who needs to inform themselves about what is, and what isn't patent infringement.

Source code, to the best of my understanding, is not subject to patent restrictions even if it uses patented algorithms. There are well-known examples of such software, for example the LAME project (which is hosted on Sourceforge just like my project). Your lawyers may be able to educate you in this regard.
Thank you,

Prashand


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From: Pete Jenney
Sent: 2/8/2011 3:45:29 AM
To: Prashand Gupta
Cc: Patrick Lenz

Der Mr. Gupta,

That's fine with us.  If you would like to challenge the US and Global patent laws regarding intellectual property its up to you.  At this point you will be sent a cease and desist notification which should you choose to ignore it, you will be contacted by the appropriate global intellectual property authorities in charge of protecting such assets.  We will also be contacting the freshemeat.org management (copied here) informing them that you are contesting international intellectual property laws and that the discussion will be made public. Please note that we've recently had a similar experience with Google and they immediately backed off on the grounds of IP protection.

Best of luck to you.