Re: crypto export from the UK

[jbaber@mi.leeds.ac.uk]

sameer <sameer@c2.org> wrote:
> 	Could people in the UK please tell me what the crypto export
> laws are like there? I know someone who wrote some really great crypto
> code in the UK but isn't willing to distribute it because of crypto
> export laws... I was under the impression that it was legal to export
> crypto from the UK.

I believe that the laws regarding the export of crypto from the UK are
very similar to the ITAR regs in the US. However our Government seems
to take the view that putting crypto software on the net is not
exporting it, the exporting is done whenever anyone from an export
restricted country downloads the software and is done by them rather
than by the person who made the software available.

Strong crypto is therefore openly available from a number of places in
this country, particually sable.ox.ac.uk at the university of Oxford.

Of course IANAL and the government may change it's mind about the
interpretation of these things but I would expect that your
acquaintance would be perfectly safe distributing his software via
sable (the ftp site (and its predicessor) have been distributing
crypto software for a number of years and I have not heard of any
problems).

Jon C. Baber
jbaber@mi.leeds.ac.uk
http://www.chem.surrey.ac.uk:80/~ch02jb