Wireshark-dev: [Wireshark-dev] Kasumi code (Was: rev 44384: ... kasumi.h ...)

From: Joerg Mayer <jmayer@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2012 21:32:38 +0200
On Thu, Aug 09, 2012 at 04:42:31PM +0000, etxrab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> http://anonsvn.wireshark.org/viewvc/viewvc.cgi?view=rev&revision=44384
> 
>  From Jacob Nordgren and Rishie Sharma:
>  FP: fixed so hsdsch type 1 also uses communication context id 
>  
>  Added experimental conditional decryption support.
> 
>   Changes    Path               Action
>   +6 -0      Custom.common      Added
>   +5 -1      Makefile.common    Modified
>   +29 -0     kasumi.h           Added
> 
>   +2035 -1759 packet-rlc.c        Modified

I really disagree with the following comment:
 * Note that the actual KASUMI implementation needs to be placed into
 * epan/crypt/kasumi.* by "end users" since due to patents the acutal implementation
 * cannot be distributed openly at the moment.

This is plain wrong:
If there really exists patents *that affect Wireshark*, then the code can still
be put into the source tree as long as you are the copyright owner of this code.
What would cause problems would be using (and for all practical purposes) the
distribution of an *executable* that uses the compiled code. To use this code,
you would have to recompile Wireshark with an extra flag or a configure option
(this is what Mesa does regarding a floatingpoint patent or whatever).

Two questions:
1) Are you the copyright owner of the code or is this the sample code from
   the specs? If you are the owner, then please submit the code as well.
2) Which patents are this? I know there are *claims* that this is patented
   on the website and other docs, but what are the patent numbers?

Thanks
    Jörg
-- 
Joerg Mayer                                           <jmayer@xxxxxxxxx>
We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that
works. Some say that should read Microsoft instead of technology.