From: bontchev@fbihh.informatik.uni-hamburg.de (Vesselin Bontchev)
Subject: Re: PKP/RSA comments on PGP legality
Reply-To: bontchev@fbihh.informatik.uni-hamburg.de
Organization: Virus Test Center, University of Hamburg
Date: 21 Dec 92 14:05:17 GMT

strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:

> (law professor's opinion about "realities of situation" omitted)

[cheap shot at law professor omitted]

> This means the ethical position is still unchanged in this discussion. Using

But he's a professor of LAW, not of ethics! And that message from Jim
Bidzos contained legal threats, it didn't just say "hey guys, you are
doing wrong things by unethically using out work, please don't"... I'm
glad that somebody with enough professional experience has clearly
showed that all legal threats from PKP & Co. are completely bogus and
should be ignored.

> Even for those who have no ethical concerns, suppose you were known to use it.
> It might jeopardize your ability to pass the scrutiny needed to obtain
> government employment, receive government research funds, or work on
> government contracts if somebody, somewhere, has a note in a file about you
> "violated Munitions Act." And you'd never know. Something to think about. Life
> is long, government files last forever, and some of the Yippees of the '60's
> now have government jobs.

Fear, Uncertainity and Doubt. Hey, my job is to work with computer
viruses; I am Bulgarian (a former Eastern Bolck country) - just this
alone should make me damn much suspicious to the folks mentioned by
you, so I don't give a dime about what they might think about my usage
of PGP...

> Then he says "I very much doubt that PKP really believes that the domestic
> circulation of PGP violates the ITARs"

> Over the years I've learned that when an attorney says something proceeded by
> "I very much doubt" or similar language, he's winging it, not expressing a
> statement of the law one can take to the bank. In any case unless the
> Professor's mind reading abilities are rather more well developed than my own,
> I doubt he knows what PKP believes.

I probably have much less experience with lawyers than you, but I
certainly tend to believe a lawyer's oppinion more than yours...
Unless, of course, this is the laywer of the opposite side, that's why
I don't believe PKP's legal threats at all...

> Finally, the Professor discredits himself (in my view) by characterizing PKP's
> attempt to protect their property rights as a "temper tantrum." At this point

Romani, eunt domus... :-))

> In conclusion, what am I doing about all this? I've been in communication with
> Jim Bidzos on a regular basis, to try to get him to appreciate the negative

I see that he has "converted" you... :-)

> impact on RSA's image all this is having, and to get him to consider some
> mutually reasonable position. One such might be for him to accept, for
> example, the Mailsafe fee (a special price he's made for "netters" of $50 as a
> voluntary gesture on his part--the commercial price is much higher) as
> liquidated damages for use of PGP, in return for rendering such use harmless
> by individuals who pay the fee. Other possibilities also come to mind. He's
> promised to think about it and consult with his attorneys.

Yup, he's doing that since three years... Read the docs of PGP
carefully. He's "thinking" and "considering" and "consulting his
lawyers" and the only thing that comes from this are legal threats.

> My position is clear. RSA has patents on a wonderful invention and they are
> entitled to the fruits of their work. To cheat them of those fruits is wrong,
> regardless of the legal situation outside the US., or whether one will get
> caught or not.

They don't have petents outside the USA, so there's nothing wrong in
using it...

> Now a word to my colleagues all over the world. Though you may be able to (or
> think you may be able to) use PGP with impunity, why not voluntarily send RSA
> a reasonable contribution for their invention--think of it as a shareinvention
> fee analogous to a shareware fee. Say $20. A large number of such gestures
> might change the context of the situation overnight. Note that this is my
> personal suggestion, and I have not discussed it with anyone.

Ha, I would be happy to pay PKP $20 just for the right to use PGP to
correspond with people in the USA without problems... Note - I am
ready to pay -them- for a program they haven't written and that I have
both the legal and ethical right to use for free. Yet, I am ready to
do that. But naw, they don't want my money, they have even not
bothered to reply to my message...

Regards,
Vesselin
-- 
Vesselin Vladimirov Bontchev          Virus Test Center, University of Hamburg
Tel.:+49-40-54715-224, Fax: +49-40-54715-226      Fachbereich Informatik - AGN
< PGP 2.1 public key available on request. > Vogt-Koelln-Strasse 30, rm. 107 C
e-mail: bontchev@fbihh.informatik.uni-hamburg.de    D-2000 Hamburg 54, Germany
Newsgroups: sci.crypt,alt.security.pgp