[OT] Re: Intellectual Property in Network Design

Sun Feb 15 15:53:46 UTC 2015

On 2/15/2015 8:57 AM, William Herrin wrote:
> On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 12:49 AM, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:
>> This assumes that Copyright is the only IP protection out there. There
>> are actually two distinct realms of IP protection afforded in the US.
> Actually, there are four: copyright, patent, trademark and trade
> secret.  A network configuration could fall under either copyright or
> trade secret. It won't fall under trademark and it's hard to imagine
> how a network configuration of a general shape anticipated by the
> router manufacturer could fall under patent. Not with the
> double-whammy of prior art and the recent rulings to the effect that
> adding "on a computer" to a technique is insufficient to make it
> patentable.
>
>
I also believe it is important to note that only certain pieces retain 
protection. Uniquely entered data forms the basis, which protects the 
whole. Retaining a full copy of the config or even portions of the 
config which contain unique data would be a violation. This not only 
applies to IP Addresses entered, but also applies to routing policies. 
As you exceed the basics of a policy(qualified as trivial, anyone would 
draw that single circle with a compass), you enter into the realm of 
artistry. It is not that another config cannot do something similar, it 
just can't do it word for word. Changing the identifiers in the policies 
is probably not enough if you have a 50+ line policy that doesn't have 
prior art.

Most engineers know when they've crossed the line from trivial/mundane 
into creative. It tends to be linked to our pride.

One thing to be careful of and definitely to seek a lawyer's advice on 
is the "transference of IP". This is because it can be retroactive. If 
you've created a set of policies that you use normally with clients that 
do not retain IP, then a transference of IP could take your rights away. 
You lose the prior art because you were the artist and you've given your 
rights to that art to someone else (which is one reason some companies 
want IP; legal protection). One way around this, most likely, is to 
establish your art as public domain (allowing you continued use of the 
foundation work, while losing the more specific details associated with 
that one project). By doing so, you may be able to protect the art 
itself. A lawyer would know best, of course.

Jack