October 26, 2022
An update to the TLP Modification of February 15, 2009 section of the FAQ has been made. This update fixes some incorrect citations of RFC 3978 and RFC 5378.
Background: RFC3978 and RFC5378 are versions of the license applied to contributions to the IETF. This correction to the FAQ fixes the citations made to these RFCs when describing the relationship of these RFCs and contributions made prior to them being used.
As describing such changes can be confusing, the old and new text is detailed here below, and updated.
Question: On February 19, 2009, the IETF Trust updated the TLP to address a problem where Pre-5378 material was included in a post-5378 contribution. What was the problem?
NEW TEXT:
As noted above RFC 5378 requires Contributors to grant broad rights to the IETF Trust. The previous copyright policy (RFC 3978) did not require the grant of so many rights. In particular, RFC 3978 did not require the Contributor to grant the right to modify his or her Contribution outside the IETF Standards Process, whereas RFC 5378 does require the Contributor to grant this right (though the IETF Trust may rarely exercise it).
In addition, RFC 5378 requires Contributors to warrant to the IETF Trust that they can actually grant all the rights they are supposed to be granting. This requirement arose from a desire to make Contributors think carefully about what they are submitting to IETF and to assure IETF that they have “cleared” all rights from relevant employers and co-authors.
A problem arises, however, when a new Contribution includes material from IETF Documents or Contributions that pre-date RFC 5378’s effectiveness, November 10, 2008 (“Pre-5378 Materials”). These materials, when they were originally submitted to IETF, did not come with all the rights required by RFC 5378, but only the smaller set of rights associated with RFC 3978 and prior policies. Thus, if these Pre-5378 Materials are included in a new Contribution, the Contributor may not always be able to grant the IETF Trust the full scope of rights that are required by RFC 5378 in his or her entire Contribution because his or her rights in the Pre-5378 Materials may be more limited.
OLD TEXT:
As noted above RFC 5378 requires Contributors to grant broad rights to the IETF Trust. The previous copyright policy (RFC 5378) did not require the grant of so many rights. In particular, RFC 5378 did not require the Contributor to grant the right to modify his or her Contribution outside the IETF Standards Process, whereas RFC 5378 does require the Contributor to grant this right (though the IETF Trust may rarely exercise it).
In addition, RFC 5378 requires Contributors to warrant to the IETF Trust that they can actually grant all the rights they are supposed to be granting. This requirement arose from a desire to make Contributors think carefully about what they are submitting to IETF and to assure IETF that they have “cleared” all rights from relevant employers and co-authors.
A problem arises, however, when a new Contribution includes material from IETF Documents or Contributions that pre-date RFC 5378’s effectiveness, November 10, 2008 (“Pre-5378 Materials”). These materials, when they were originally submitted to IETF, did not come with all the rights required by RFC 5378, but only the smaller set of rights associated with RFC 5378 and prior policies. Thus, if these Pre-5378 Materials are included in a new Contribution, the Contributor may not always be able to grant the IETF Trust the full scope of rights that are required by RFC 5378 in his or her entire Contribution because his or her rights in the Pre-5378 Materials may be more limited.