- From: Michael Frankel <michaelfrankel@mediaone.net>
- Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 08:29:00 -0700
- To: <www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org>
To Whom It May Concern - After reviewing the material I found on these proposals, I have the following comments: (1) The purpose of standards is to facilitate consistency & clarity in presentation, functionality, & design. Standards are guidelines, they are NOT a product; their free general use must be protected, especially given the volatility of the internet & related technology. (2) Most if not all of the large companies involved here have enormous financial resources & assets. Adding a financial component to the standards process will allow one or two companies to effectively kill any proposed standard if they don't like it (or if they have a competing one). This hurts EVERYONE and benefits only the dissenting companies. (3) Open-source is kind of like art. You don't have to pay for it to benefit from it. The atmosphere of unlimited creativity will foster more innovation than fear from the legal system. If you stifle developers creativity with this fear, you will kill it. Cordially, -- Michael Frankel Wizard Consulting Group (800) 307-5147 / Cell (310) 291-3419 http://www.wizardconsultinggroup.com
Received on Tuesday, 2 October 2001 11:29:06 UTC