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Network Working Group R. Fougner Request for Comments: 1170 Public Key Partners

                                                          January 1991

                 Public Key Standards and Licenses

Status of this Memo

 This RFC is a public statement by Public Key Partners regarding
 Public Key Standards and Licenses.  This memo is for informational
 use only, and does not constitute an Internet standard.  Distribution
 of this memo is unlimited.

Public Key Standards and Licenses

 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Board of Trustees
 of the Leland Stanford Junior University have recently granted Public
 Key Partners exclusive sublicensing rights to the following patents
 registered in the United States, and all of their corresponding
 foreign patents:

    Cryptographic Apparatus and Method
    ("Diffie-Hellman")............................... No. 4,200,770

    Public Key Cryptographic Apparatus
    and Method ("Hellman-Merkle").................... No. 4,218,582

    Cryptographic Communications System and
    Method ("RSA")................................... No. 4,405,829

    Exponential Cryptographic Apparatus
    and Method ("Hellman-Pohlig").................... No. 4,424,414

 These patents cover all known methods of practicing the art of Public
 Key, including the variations collectively known as El Gamal.

 Due to the broad acceptance of RSA digital signatures throughout the
 international community, Public Key Partners strongly endorses its
 incorporations in a digital signature standard.  We assure the
 interested parties that Public Key Partners will comply with all of
 the policies of ANSI and the IEEE concerning the availability of
 licenses to practice this art.  Specifically, in support of any RSA
 signature standard which may be adopted, Public Key Partners hereby
 gives its assurance that licenses to practice RSA signatures will be
 available under reasonable terms and conditions on a non-
 discriminatory basis.

Fougner [Page 1]  RFC 1170 Public Key Standards and Licenses January 1991

 We take this opportunity to thank all of those concerned for their
 collective efforts in making this technology readily available for
 commercial implementation.

                                         Public Key Partners

                                         By:  Robert B. Fougner
                                              Director of Licensing

Security Considerations

 This memo discusses fair access to the use of public key technology
 to implement security.

Author's Address

 Robert B. Fougner
 Director of Licensing
 Public Key Partners
 130 B Kifer Court
 Sunnyvale, CA 94086

 Phone:  (408) 735-6779

Fougner [Page 2]