Support only patent-free technology

Dear W3C Patent Policy Working Group,

I'm concerned about the recent Patent Policy Framework draft, which could 
allow W3C members to charge royalty fees for technologies included in web 
standards.
In particular, I object to the inclusion of a "reasonable and 
non-discriminatory" (RAND) licensing option in the proposed policy. I 
believe that the exclusive use of a "royalty-free" (RF) licensing model is 
in the best interests of the Internet community, and that RAND licensing 
would always necessarily exclude some would-be implementors.
I applaud the W3C for its tradition of providing open-source reference 
implementations and its work to promote a wide variety of interoperable 
implementations of its open standards. The W3C can best continue its work 
of "leading the Web to its full potential" by continuing this tradition, 
and saying no to RAND licensing.

Our company used many open-source products. The Internet is unlike any 
technology currently supported by a standards body. The Internet is for 
everyone, not just for a select few hardware manufactures or software 
vendors. I would rather have a limited set of functionality then be forced 
into paying royalties and/or restricting the use on Internet software. We 
support the continued development for patent-free technology.



Sincerely,
Allan Oepping
Vice President of Engineering
Pacific WebWorks