Patent Policy Comments

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