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Lossless Data Compression, Recommended Standard, Issue 2, May 2012,
CCSDS 121.0-B-2
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Patent Considerations, Section A3, page 37
With respect to this issue we got the following information from
NASA's Chief Patent Counsel:
From: Geurts, Bryan A. (GSFC-1401)
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 12:14 PM
To: Yeh, Pen-Shu (GSFC-5670)
Subject: RE: Need help from you again
Pen-Shu,
The license agreement with ICs, LLC, for Patent Numbers US 5,448,642,
US 5,687,255 and US 5,822,457, has been terminated effective March 31,
2009. NASA has no other licensee of these patents. It is NASA's intent
to not pay the remaining maintenance fees owing on these patents,
thereby allowing them to eventually become abandoned, and to not
enforce the patents.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Bryan A. Geurts
Chief Patent Counsel
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Code 140.1, 8800 Greenbelt Road
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Phone: (301) 286-7352
Fax: (301) 286-9502
Reassuring this information in August 2012 because of the patent
considerations in the above referenced CCSDS standard:
From: Geurts, Bryan A. (GSFC-1401)
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 10:36 AM
To: Luis Kornblueh
Subject: RE: Patent 5448642
Dear Mr. Kornblueh
Per my email cited above, NASA has no interest in licensing or
maintaining US Patent No. 5448642 and therefore has no objection to
your use of its teachings and claims. However, while NASA has
effectively abandoned this patent, any use of the subject matter is at
your own risk and NASA cannot warrant that its use will satisfy your
particular needs or that your use will not infringe on another's
intellectual property rights.
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The cited CCSDS standard does not refer to any other intellectual
property rights.
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