Home > Sales > Patent Issues / Algorithms

Patent status of algorithms used in IAIK-JCE

Last Update: 03.08.2009

Owing to patent issues regarding the use of certain algorithms, the standard version of our Stiftung SIC-JCE software tool contains neither of those algorithms. This allows US customers a hassle-free evaluation of IAIK Security software for the Java™ platform without running the risk of infringing these patents. If you are authorized and wish to use IAIK-JCE including but not necessarily limited to RC5, RC6, ESDH, or IDEA, you may extend the standard JCE version by downloading the corresponding extension. However, when doing so, please be sure to confirm with the patent issues !

Additionally we provide an iaik_jce_full.jar file enabling you to use a "one-step" download of all IAIK-JCE classes including RC5, RC6, ESDH and IDEA!
Similarly, we provide a standard version of the IAIK-JCE applet and webstart edition not using any of the encumbered algorithms. Extensions may be downloaded. The iaik_jce_full_ae.jar and iaik_jce_full_ws.jarfile include all the crypto-classes.algorithm list Patent status of algorithms used in IAIK-JCE.

This site lists cryptographic algorithms which are used in the IAIK-JCE. All specified algorithms, which are registered by patents or registered trade marks, are listed with their patent/trademark owner. Further each algorithm is registered also with the Website of the owner or the Website of its developer, on which you can get more and probably already updated information about the algorithm.
Please also have a look at the important legal notices listed after the algorithms.

There is the possibility that undermentioned algorithms possess further patents and trademarks.

Please be aware that it could have come to changes and this list is not up to date anymore.

List of Trademarks

IDEA is registered as Trademark by "Asom Systec AG"
CAST is registered as Trademark by "Entrust Technologies, Inc."
MD2, MD5, RC2, RC4, RC5, RC6, RSA are registered as Trademarks by "RSA Data Security Inc."

Algorithms

MD2 | MD5 | RC2 | RC4 | RC5 | RC6 | Ripemd | RSA | Serpent | SHA | Twofish

	AES
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/
Algorithm-Contact	http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/contacts.pdf
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/ : Since October 2000 Rijndael is choosen as AES

	Blowfish
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.counterpane.com/blowfish.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.counterpane.com/blowfish.html
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://www.counterpane.com/blowfish.html : No license required

	Camellia
Algorithm updated:	03.08.2009
Algorithm-Site	http://info.isl.ntt.co.jp/crypt/eng/camellia/index.html
Algorithm-Contact	Email: camellia@lab.ntt.co.jp
Algorithm-Patent(s)	Patented, but royalty-free licensing
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	Yes, Trademark registered by: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://info.isl.ntt.co.jp/crypt/eng/info/chiteki.html : Camellia essential patents can be used at no charge by any Camellia user without concluding royalty-free licensing agreement; No license required. The core of the IAIK-JCE Camellia algorithm implementation has been provided by NTT under the following BSD licence: Copyright (c) 2008 NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) . All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer as the first lines of this file unmodified. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY NTT ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL NTT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
	CAST
Algorithm updated:	18.07.2005
Algorithm-Site
Algorithm-Contact	Carlisle Adams SITE University of Ottawa 800 King Edward Avenue P.O.Box 450 Station A Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N6N5 Phone: (613) 562 - 5800 ext. 2345
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 5,511,123 expiry date is unknown
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: Entrust Technologies, Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : The design procedure that was used to obtain the CAST S-boxes is patented by Entrust Technologies, Inc. However, quoting from RFC 2144: "The CAST-128 cipher described in this document is available worldwide on a royalty-free basis for commercial and non-commercial uses."

	DES
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://csrc.nist.gov/
Algorithm-Contact
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 3,962,539 expiry date 01.06.1993
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from https://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/6-3-3.html : U.S. Patent 3,962,539, which describes the Data Encryption Standard (DES), was assigned to IBM Corporation in 1976. IBM subsequently placed the patent in the public domain, offering royalty-free licenses conditional on adherence to the specifications of the standard. The patent expired in 1993.

	DH
Algorithm updated:	18.07.2005
Algorithm-Site
Algorithm-Contact	http://www-ee.stanford.edu/~hellman
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 4,200,770 expiry date 29.04.1997 US Patent: 4,956,863 expiry date 29.04.1997 Canada Patent: 1,121,480 expiry date 29.04.1997
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1

	DSA
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://csrc.nist.gov/
Algorithm-Contact	Elaine Barker
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 5,231,668 expiry date some time in 2011, unless abandoned
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistbul/csl94-11.txt : On July 27, 1993, NIST obtained U.S. Patent 5,231,668 which describes the DSA, the algorithm which authenticates the integrity of signed data and the identity of the signer. NIST is also seeking foreign patents. The DSA patent and any foreign counterparts that may issue are available for use without any written permission from or any payment of royalties to the U.S. government. Quoting from http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1363/P1363/letters/NIST.txt : The NIST patent on DSA is number 5,231,668 entitled "Digital Signature Standard" which issued on July 27, 1993. NIST will not seek any royalties or license fees regarding the use of DSA. Quoting from https://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/6-3-2.html : David Kravitz, former member of the NSA, holds a patent on DSA [Kra93]. Claus P. Schnorr has asserted that his patent [Sch91] covers certain implementations of DSA. RSA Security has also asserted coverage of certain implementations of DSA by the Schnorr patent. [Kra93] D. Kravitz, Digital signature algorithm. U.S. Patent 5,231,668, July 27, 1993. [Sch91] C.P. Schnorr, Method for identifying subscribers and for generating and verifying electronic signatures in a data exchange system, U.S. Patent 4,995,082, February 19, 1991.

	ESDH
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.ietf.org/ietf/IPR/CERTICOM-SMIME-1
Algorithm-Contact	Richard Depew EVP, Field Operations Certicom Corp. 25801 Industrial Blvd Hayward, CA 94545 USA Tel: 510-780-5400 Fax: 510-780-5401 Email: rdepew@certicom.com
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 5,933,504 expiry date is unknown
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : Certicom owns patents for ESDH (5,933,504 and possibly others). Certicom grants free licenses for processes or products specific to certain aspects of S/MIME. See http://www.ietf.org/ietf/IPR/certicom_smime_license.pdf for details and the required procedures for acquiring such licenses. Certicom will offer of royalty-free license for RFC 2459 and RFC 2631 implementations.

	GOST
Algorithm updated:	15.07.2005
Algorithm-Site
Algorithm-Contact
Algorithm-Patent(s)	Russian Patent: UDC 681.325.6:006.354
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	status of trademark is not clear defined!
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : Detailed Information available on: http://kremlinencrypt.com/algorithms.htm#GOST

	IDEA
Algorithm updated:	15.07.2005
Algorithm-Site	http://www.mediacrypt.com/
Algorithm-Contact	idea@mediacrypt.com
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 5,214,703 expiry date 25.05.2010 Europe Patent: EP0482154 expiry date 16.05.2011 Japan Patent: JP322544B2 expiry date 16.05.2011
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: Asom Systec AG
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://www.mediacrypt.com/ : Non-commercial use of IDEA is free Patented in: US,Austria,France,Germany,Italy,Netherlands,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,United Kingdom + Japa

	MARS
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.research.ibm.com/security/mars.html
Algorithm-Contact	silletti@us.ibm.com
Algorithm-Patent(s)	Patent: - pending
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : IBM has a patent pending on MARS. However, it is not clear whether "royalty-free" excludes the possibility of up-front license fees.

	MD2
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-6.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: RSA Data Security Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : Has to be identified as a derivative of the "RSA Data Security, Inc. MD2 Message Digest Algorithm"

	MD5
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-6.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: RSA Data Security Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : Has to be identified as a derivative of the "RSA Data Security, Inc. MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm". (See RFC 1321 )

	RC2
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-2.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: RSA Data Security Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://news.com.com/2100-1001_3-201019.html : RSA Data Security published the description of RC2 at June 27, 1997. Quoting from http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-2.html : Please have a look at this site

	RC4
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-3.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: RSA Data Security Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-3.html : Please have a look at this site

	RC5
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-4.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 5,724,428 expiry date is unknown US Patent: 5,835,600 expiry date is unknown US Patent: 6,269,163 expiry date is unknown
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: RSA Data Security Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : The RC5 algorithm is patented by RSA Data Security Inc. 100 Marine Parkway, Redwoord City, California 94065, ph.+1 415 595-8782, fax +1 415 595-1873, and cannot be used commercially in the US without a license.

	RC6
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-4.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 5,724,428 expiry date is unknown US Patent: 5,835,600 expiry date is unknown US Patent: 6,269,163 expiry date is unknown
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: RSA Data Security Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-4.html : RC6 is proprietary of RSA Security but can be freely used for research and evaluation purposes during the AES evaluation period. We emphasize that if RC6 is selected for the AES, RSA Security will not require any licensing or royalty payments for products using the algorithm; there will be no restrictions beyond those specified for the AES by the U.S. government. However, RC6 may remain a trademark of RSA

	Ripemd
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~bosselae/ripemd160.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~bosselae/ripemd160.html
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~bosselae/ripemd160.html The authors of RIPEMD-160 and RIPEMD-128 do not hold any patents on the algorithms (nor on the optional extensions), and are also not aware of any patents on these algorithms.

	RSA
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-1.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/
Algorithm-Patent(s)	US Patent: 4,405,829 expiry date 20.09.2000
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	yes, Trademark registered by: RSA Data Security Inc.
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://www.cs.rochester.edu/users/faculty/nelson/courses/cryptology/notes/lecture_19.txt : On September 6, 2000, RSA Security made the RSA algorithm publicly available and waived its rights to enforce the RSA patent for any development activities that include the algorithm occurring after September 6, 2000. Quoting from https://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/6-3-1.html : Please have a look at this site

	Serpent
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/serpent.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/serpent.html
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/serpent.html : Serpent is now completely in the public domain, and there are no restrictions on its use. This was announced on the 21st August 2000 at the First AES Candidate Conference

	SHA
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-5.html
Algorithm-Contact
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from : SHA-1 is also described in the ANSI X9.30 (part 2) standard

	Twofish
Algorithm updated:	12.09.2003
Algorithm-Site	http://www.counterpane.com/twofish.html
Algorithm-Contact	http://www.counterpane.com/twofish.html
Algorithm-Patent(s)	not patented 1
Algorithm-Trademark(s)	no trademark 1
Algorithm-Comment(s)	Quoting from http://www.counterpane.com/twofish.html : uncopyrighted and license-free; it is free for all uses.