Subject: New patent claim

From: Paul Hoffman / IMC <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 09:30:33 -0700

Someone is claiming a patent on parts of S/MIME. See 
<http://www.ietf.org/ietf/IPR/HALL-SMIME>.

--Paul Hoffman, Director
--Internet Mail Consortium

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From: Dennis Glatting <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 10:15:51 -0700

> <http://www.ietf.org/ietf/IPR/HALL-SMIME>.

I recognize the domain ex-pressnet.com. I was just spammed by them.
Perhaps that is an indication of their business model?

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From: Bruce Greenblatt <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 16:01:22 -0700

>--Internet Mail Consortium
IBM's patent server says 
(http://patent.womplex.ibm.com/details?&pn=US05126728__):

What is claimed is:
                      1. A data processing security device comprising:

                      a) memory means for storing a plurality of authorized 
field protection introducer codes,
                      b) means for evaluating a stream of data flowing from 
a source of character codes to identify
                      field protection introducer codes within the stream 
of data, said means for evaluating being in
                      communication with said memory means, said evaluating 
means comprising comparison
                      means for comparing introducer codes within the 
stream of data to said authorized codes in
                      said memory means, and
                      c) means for replacing data after said field 
introducer codes within said stream of data with
                      replacement characters if the field introducer codes 
within the stream of data do not match at
                      least one of said authorized codes stored in said 
memory means, said means for replacing
                      being in communication with said evaluating means.

This doesn't seem like it applies to me.  I know that message security 
labels have been around forever (at least as far back as X.400 1988) in the 
email world.  It is also very hardware oriented...

Bruce