Tim, I'm responding to your question about patents. I don't know of any reason why individual licenses to use the public-key patents in connection with specified authorized programs couldn't be granted under U.S. patent law. In general, a patent holder has the right to exclude unauthorized persons from making, using, or selling the patented invention. A patent holder can grant non- exclusive licenses to make, use, or sell. Legally speaking, a non-exclusive license can be thought of as a promise by the paent holder not to sue the licensee for acts within the scope of the license which would otherwise constitute patent infringement, in return for some kind of consideration. The major limits on a valid patent are "patent misuse" (where the patent holder overreaches) and antitrust (where the patent holder uses the patent to restrain trade). Patent licensing is a pretty flexible mechanism. I'm no expert, though, and I've never quite understood exactly what this patent protects, nor have I seen the actual claims of the issued patent. Lee