TAKE NOTE: new IEEE 802.16 Patent Policy and Procedures

["Roger B. Marks" <marks@boulder.nist.gov>]

IEEE 802.16 Patent Policy and Procedures, developed in consultation 
with the Patent Committee (PatCom) of the IEEE-SA Standards Board, 
have been approved and can be found at 
<http://ieee802.org/16/ipr/patents/policy.html>.

ALL PARTICIPANTS IN IEEE 802.16 MUST READ AND UNDERSTAND THE 802.16 
PATENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES! I strongly encourage you to do so.

For your convenience, I have included an ASCII translation below. 
However, I recommend the official hyperlinked version on the web.

In accordance with the new procedures, I have posted Revision 8 of 
the IEEE 802.16 Document Submission Template

	http://ieee802.org/16/docs/802_16_template.doc

and of the IEEE 802.16 Presentation Submission Template

	http://ieee802.org/16/docs/802_16_present.ppt

The use of these template (which also include the 
previously-announced document release language 
<http://ieee802.org/16/ipr/copyrights/release.html>) is mandatory on 
new contributions!

Cheers!

Roger

Roger B. Marks  <mailto:marks@nist.gov>
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access
<http://ieee802.org/16>


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IEEE 802.16 Patent Policy

IEEE 802.16 operates under the Patent Policy of the IEEE Standards 
Association, as set forth in Clause 6 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board 
Bylaws. This policy includes the statement:

"IEEE standards may include the known use of patent(s), including 
patent applications, if there is technical justification in the 
opinion of the standards-developing committee and provided the IEEE 
receives assurance from the patent holder that it will license 
applicants under reasonable terms and conditions for the purpose of 
implementing the standard."

IEEE 802.16 interprets "in the opinion of the standards-developing 
committee" as "in the opinion of the members of the Working Group." 
Early disclosure to the Working Group participants of patent 
information that might be relevant to the standard is essential to 
reduce the possibility for delays in the development process and to 
increase the likelihood that the draft publication will be approved 
for publication. IEEE 802.16 strives to make such information 
available as soon as possible for consideration by individual members 
in their voting decisions. However, in its meetings and electronic 
forums, IEEE 802.16 does not permit discussions concerning the 
validity or applicability of intellectual property claims. The only 
role a patent claim plays in Working Group discussions concerns 
ensuring compliance to the IEEE 802.16 Patent Policy and Procedures.

Justification for the inclusion of technology is limited to the 
technical merits of the technology.


IEEE 802.16 Patent Procedures

In consultation with the IEEE-SA Standards Board Patent Committee 
(PatCom), IEEE 802.16 has developed the following Patent Procedures:

1. Anyone, whether participating in IEEE 802.16 or not, should notify 
the Chair of any patents (granted or under application, and 
regardless of the assignee or the patent nationality) that may cover 
technology that is under consideration by or has been approved by 
IEEE 802.16. Such notification should be in written or electronic 
form (email is preferred) and need not make any statement concerning 
enforcement or licensing. The Chair will presume that such 
notification is intended for public release and will, as soon as 
practical, post it to the web along with other Patent Information On 
File with IEEE 802.16. The Chair and the Working Group will take no 
position regarding the validity or applicability of any patents.

2. Written contributions to IEEE 802.16 standards development will 
not be accepted without an acknowledgement of familiarity with the 
IEEE 802.16 Patent Policy and Procedures. This acknowledgement will 
be part of the mandatory contribution cover sheet and will read:

'The contributor is familiar with the IEEE 802.16 Patent Policy and 
Procedures (Version #), including the statement "IEEE standards may 
include the known use of patent(s), including patent applications, if 
there is technical justification in the opinion of the 
standards-developing committee and provided the IEEE receives 
assurance from the patent holder that it will license applicants 
under reasonable terms and conditions for the purpose of implementing 
the standard."

Early disclosure to the Working Group of patent information that 
might be relevant to the standard is essential to reduce the 
possibility for delays in the development process and increase the 
likelihood that the draft publication will be approved for 
publication. Please notify the Chair as early as possible, in written 
or electronic form, of any patents (granted or under application) 
that may cover technology that is under consideration by or has been 
approved by IEEE 802.16. The Chair will disclose this notification 
via the IEEE 802.16 web site.'

3. The Chair, once formally notified and once a potentially relevant 
draft standard exists, shall write to the identified party and 
request that a Letter of Assurance be filed with the Chair for 
forwarding to the IEEE-SA Patent Committee, in accordance with the 
instructions in the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual. A 
sample
request letter and response letter are available. When the Patent 
Committee has accepted the letter as a Letter of Assurance, 
information regarding the letter will be indexed in the Records of 
IEEE Standards-Related Patents.