Summary: Unless we modify the drafts to rip out the mandatory DH but optional RSA the PKIX and SMIME specs will inevitably end up being recycled at DRAFT stage since otherwise our spec will not correspond to reality. While we are at it a good purge of all lossage related to 40bit ciphers is needed. On the patent issue, yes I do begrudge folk a return on their IP. I have yet to see anyone go out and hand me (or CERN) a cheque for the IP we put in the public domain. The fact is that in most cases a patent is the kiss of death as far as I am concerned. If you patent something it means that I have to talk to our lawyers if I want to use it in a design. It is usually easier to work out another way to do the same thing - as some folk on this list have discovered. I don't have a problem in the case that someone genuinely invented something worthwhile. In most cases however I'm reading claims written by some weasel that developed a better mousetrap and is claiming the idea of catching all forms of vermin for purposes of disposal (excluding weasels). When I was at MIT one of the Profs made certain patent claims which had they been made in an academic paper would have been considered plagarism. I have noted a distinct decline in said profs patent prolixity since I made my position clear (and no it isn't anyone the folk in this group is likely to know - unless they spend time reading bogus patent claims). The fact that DH expired two years ago and will not expire till the end of the month after the next IETF does not appear to me to be a sufficient reason to absolutely reject RSA until the second hand reaches the top of the hour ushering in October 1. When the argument is that we all need one default algorithm to permit interoperation it aoccurs to me that ignoring the 100 odd million installations already shipped is ridiculous. They do RSA, they don't do DH, it will be five years at least before that installed base will cease to be a constraint - end of story. Phill
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