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From: gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore)
Newsgroups: net.crypt,net.sources.d,net.legal
Subject: There are basically no export controls on public domain information.
Message-ID: 
Date: Fri, 3-Oct-86 19:57:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: hoptoad.1176
Posted: Fri Oct  3 19:57:06 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 4-Oct-86 12:48:24 EDT
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
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Xref: watmath net.crypt:897 net.sources.d:552 net.legal:5266

I got into a hassle last month for posting a DES program to mod.sources
because someone claimed that I was breaking the export control law.

I spent the afternoon down at the Federal Building and discovered that
export policy is in better shape than I thought.  Basically, you can
export any technical data to any destination if it "has been made
generally available to the public in any form".  This export is under
a "general license" which is available to everyone without any paperwork.

So, you should expect to see the DES posting again (it was canceled)
and to see Crypt Breaker's Workbench on mod.sources soon.

Here are the regs for all you policy hounds:

Export Administration Regulations, Part 370.2, Definitions.

	"General License.  A license established by the US Department
	of Commerce for which no application is required and for which
	no document is granted or issued.  It is available for use by
	all persons, except those listed in and prohibited by the
	provisions of Supplement No. 1 to Part 388, and permits export
	within the provisions thereof as prescribed in the Export
	Administration Regulations.  These general licenses are not
	applicable to exports under the licensing jurisdiction of agencies
	other than the Department of Commerce."

Part 379.1, Definitions.
	"...  All software is technical data."

Part 379.2, Licenses to Export.
	"Except as provided in Part 370.3(a), an export of technical
	data must be made under either a US Department of Commerce
	general license or a validated export license.  General
	licenses GTDA and GTDR apply to specific types of exports of
	technical data..."

Part 379.3, General license GTDA: Technical Data Available to all
Destinations.
	"A General License designated GTDA is hereby established
	authorizing the export to all destinations of technical data
	described in 379.3(a), (b), or (c) below:

		(a) Data Generally Available

	Data that have been made generally available to the public in
	any form, including--

	(1) Data released orally or visually at open conferences,
	lectures, trade shows, or other media open to the public; and

	(2) Publications that may be purchased without restrictions
	at a nominal cost, or obtained without costs, or are readily
	available at libraries open to the public.

	The term "nominal cost" as used in 379.3(a)(2) above, is intended
	to reflect realistically only the cost of preparing and distributing
	the publication and not the intrinsic value of the technical data.
	If the cost is such as to prevent the technical data from being
	generally available to the public, General License GTDA would not
	be applicable.

		(b)  Scientific or Educational Data ...

		(c)  Patent Applications ..."
-- 
John Gilmore  {sun,ptsfa,lll-crg,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu   jgilmore@lll-crg.arpa
		     May the Source be with you!