Subject: More Patent Problems For Clipper 06/04/94 Message-ID: Date: 3 Jun 94 22:15:32 GMT Lines: 80 Approved: cn@clarinet.com Keywords: Bureau-WAS WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 3 (NB) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer scientist Silvio Micali, already holder of a patent that could apply to the Clinton administration's proposed Clipper encryption technology, says he has been awarded a second patent that the government must license if it wants to implement Clipper. "I just heard from my patent lawyer that a second patent has been issued," Micali told Newsbytes. He added that he has "various" information security patent applications pending that could apply to Clipper. Micali confirmed that he has been negotiating with Michael Rubin, an attorney at the government's National Institute of Standards and Technology, over royalties for his technology. "The negotiations are coming along more slowly that I like but they are continuing," he said. "There is no question the government will need a license," Micali told Newsbytes. "I think they know that and the conflict will be resolved amicably. I believe we can have some trust in the government." Micali says he invented the notion of breaking the key to an encrypted message into two parts and entrusting those parts with a trustee or agent. Only when the pieces of the key are united can the scrambled message be decoded. Under the Clipper approach, the government would determine who the escrow agents are that hold the parts of the key. Then, under court order, the government could unite the key and decode the message. Micali says he prefers a bottoms-up approach rather than the top-down government solution. "The user should pick the secret key and pick the trustees," he said. "That's much more suitable for a democratic society." If the government is forced to license parts of the Clipper technology, it could drive up the cost of the technology and harm its position in the marketplace. The administration has said that its encryption technology, which includes a chip in communications devices using it, is voluntary. But it hopes it will become a standard. In a related development, the International Chamber of Commerce has called for a global encryption policy "that will ensure that encryption remains an effective tool enabling business to secure international electronic communication." In a policy statement, the international business group says encryption policy should follow three principals: standardization, flexibility, and free trade. "Users should be free to use and implement the already existing framework of generally accepted encryption methods and choose keys and key management without restriction, and cryptographic algorithms and schemes for key managements must be open to public scrutiny," says the policy statement. "Encryption methods should be implementable in both hardware and software. Vendors and users should be free to make technical and economic choices about modes of implementation and operation, and owners, providers, and users of encryption methods should agree on the responsibility, accountability and liability for such methods," the policy continues. Finally, "encryption methods, except those developed for military or diplomatic uses, should not be subject to export or import controls, usage restrictions, restrictive licensing arrangements or other restrictions." The US Council for International Business, the New York-based US affiliate of the ICC, says it "fully endorses the ICC position." (Kennedy Maize/19940603/Contacts: Silvio Micali, tel 617-253-1000; Nanette Di Tosto, US Council, tel 212-354-4855)