NIST has filed a patent application for DSS and there have been claims that DSS is covered by other public-key patents. NIST recently announced its intention to grant exclusive sublicensing rights for the DSS patent to Public Key Partners (PKP), which also holds the sublicensing rights to other patents that may cover DSS (see Question 3.1.5). In the agreement between NIST and PKP, PKP publicly stated uniform guidelines by which it will grant licenses to practice DSS. PKP stated that DSS can be used on a royalty-free basis in the case of personal, noncommercial, or U.S. government use.