Level Playing Field

Hi There,

its all very simple, the moment the W3C Standards include patented
technology,
is  the moment W3C Standards  become irrelevant to me. Speaking as  a
software 
developer the attractions of following the standards are two fold. 

1. Interoperability
2. A level playing field.

Part 2 is very important. The company / organization implementing the
standard does
not require deep pockets. A college student can make an implementation as
easily as Microsoft.
Where would http be without apache? would apache exist if  http was a
patented technology and
the apache foundation had to charge a royalty for every copy shipped? 

In short in the event that patented technologies begin to become included in
W3C Standards, 
I hope some other organisation  will arrive to take its place, and carry on
the good work.

This message expresses only my personal opinion and does not necessarily 
represent the  opinion of my employer,  Sentia Technologies. 

Sean O'Donnell

Chief Technology Officer
Sentia Technologies Ltd.
Sentia House
104 Coolmine Business Park
Dublin 15     Ireland

e-mail	sean.odonnell@sentia.ie
web   	http://www.sentia.ie 
phone 	+ 353 1  821 9020
fax   	+ 353 1  821 9025
mobile	+ 353 86 854 3389

Received on Monday, 1 October 2001 08:24:22 UTC