diff --git a/include/ccnx-common.h b/include/ccnx-common.h
index 06e7700..031d27d 100644
--- a/include/ccnx-common.h
+++ b/include/ccnx-common.h
@@ -1,3 +1,24 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C++; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2012 University of California, Los Angeles
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation;
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ *
+ * Author: Zhenkai Zhu <zhenkai@cs.ucla.edu>
+ *	   Alexander Afanasyev <alexander.afanasyev@ucla.edu>
+ */
+
 #ifndef CCNX_COMMON_H
 #define CCNX_COMMON_H
 
@@ -23,6 +44,8 @@
 typedef vector<unsigned char> Bytes;
 typedef vector<string>Comps;
 
+typedef boost::shared_ptr<Bytes> BytesPtr;
+ 
 // --- Bytes operations start ---
 void
 readRaw(Bytes &bytes, const unsigned char *src, size_t len);