RAND patent licensing

I strenuously object to the proposal to permit royalty fees to be charged 
for Web-standard technologies. I urge W3C to continue to require 
royalty-free licensing as a prerequisite for all Web standards.

I submit that "reasonable and non-discriminatory" is an oxymoron, because 
it does not take into account that what is reasonable varies according to 
the resources of the payer of the fee. RAND licensing will move the Web 
from its free and open tradition, the very basis of its success, to one 
that favors large patent holders and large developers able to pay high 
("reasonable") fees. This will lock out a large, important segment of the 
developer community, including small, innovative companies and academia.

It is evident that W3C wishes to avoid taking a stance on the issue of 
software patents, but it is also clear that they stifle creativity and 
retard development for the narrow profit of patent holders at the expense 
of the larger community.

Please reject RAND licensing for the Web.

-- 
Fred Condo, Ph.D. + fcondo@csuchico.edu + http://webclass.csuchico.edu/
CSU, Chico Dept. of  Communication Design + http://www.csuchico.edu/cdes/
CSU, Chico USENIX Assn. Outreach Representative + http://www.usenix.org/

Received on Sunday, 7 October 2001 10:59:21 UTC