Re: [admin] Reminder of Patent Policy for Non-member Contributions

Perhaps this is something we should be identifying in the GitHub pull
request notification system that Tobie has been working on. I'm currently
working on something similar for all jQuery projects, where pull requests
will instantly be marked if the contributor has not signed a CLA.


On Sun, Sep 22, 2013 at 8:46 AM, Arthur Barstow <art.barstow@nokia.com>wrote:

> [ Bcc public-{webapps, webevents, pointer-events} ]
>
> Hi All - below is an important reminder from Wendy regarding "policies and
> good practice to ensure that we can meet W3C's Patent Policy, with the goal
> of assuring that W3C recommendations can be implemented Royalty-Free". If
> you are a spec Editor or spec contributor, please read Wendy's e-mail.
>
> If you have any questions now, and/or there are any related
> questions/scenarios/issues/**etc. in the future, please let us know.
>
> -Thanks, ArtB
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject:        Reminder of Patent Policy for Non-member Contributions
> Resent-Date:    Fri, 20 Sep 2013 14:40:14 +0000
> Resent-From:    <chairs@w3.org>
> Date:   Fri, 20 Sep 2013 10:40:05 -0400
> From:   ext Wendy Seltzer <wseltzer@w3.org>
> Organization:   W3C
> To:     chairs@w3.org <chairs@w3.org>, W3C Team <w3t@w3.org>
>
>
>
> Hi W3C Working Group Chairs and Team Contacts,
>
> As your Working Groups explore different ways to engage contributors and
> the public in specification development, we wanted to remind you of
> policies and good practice to ensure that we can meet W3C's Patent
> Policy, with the goal of assuring that W3C recommendations can be
> implemented Royalty-Free. This policy applies, for example, to pull
> requests on github and comments received through social media.
>
> As we say in the Patent Policy FAQ:
> http://www.w3.org/2003/12/22-**pp-faq#non-participants<http://www.w3.org/2003/12/22-pp-faq#non-participants>
> "How should Working Groups handle contributions from non-participants
> (e.g., meeting guests or on public lists)?
>
>  A W3C Working Group frequently finds itself in the position of
>  receiving reviews and input from other parties who are not
>  participants in the Working Group, including:
>
>     Another W3C Working Group;
>     A meeting guest, including an observer during the Technical Plenary
>  Week;
>     The general public on a mailing list.
>
>  All Participants in a given Working Group have made a commitment to
>  the W3C Patent Policy (in particular, the provisions regarding
>  licensing obligations), but only for the Recommendations of that
>  particular Working Group. In general, other parties have not made the
>  same commitment for those same deliverables, although they MAY make
>  this commitment if they wish. Similarly, W3C may request that they
>  make such a commitment (see instructions for licensing commitments
>  from non-W3C Members). This means that the Working Group should
>  consider very carefully any contribution from a non-Participant before
>  including it in a document intended to become a W3C Recommendation.
>
>  To help manage expectations of meeting guests, attendees of joint
>  Working Group meetings, and mailing list subscribers, it is useful to
>  remind them when appropriate of the goals of the W3C Patent Policy.
>
>  When a contribution is being considered for actual inclusion in a
>  document intended to become a Recommendation, the Chair should ask the
>  Contributor to disclose any essential claims, and if there are any,
>  the terms under which those claims would be licensed. Lack of a
>  response to this request is a red flag.
>
>  In cases where disclosure reveals possible incompatible licensing, the
>  Working Group should either steer away from the Contribution, or
>  attempt to secure W3C Royalty-Free licensing terms. W3C prefers to
>  avoid PAGs where possible."
>
>
> Please let us know if you have questions.
> --Wendy
> --
> Wendy Seltzer -- wseltzer@w3.org +1.617.715.4883 (office)
> Policy Counsel, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
> http://wendy.seltzer.org/        +1.617.863.0613 (mobile)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Received on Sunday, 22 September 2013 12:57:26 UTC