Opposition to RAND Patent Policy

I strongly support a W3C policy which requires all parties contributing to
any W3C standard or recommendation to grant blanket Royalty-Free licenses
to any and all patents which cover any aspect of a technology necessary or
helpful to implement any standard or recommendation issued by the W3C.

I strongly oppose any policy which allows so-called "RAND" licensing.

As a member of the faculty at Princeton University, I want to ensure that
my students, as well as all other members of the computing community, can
implement any W3C standard or recommendation without fear of infringing a
patent, or being forced to pay licensing fees.  This freedom is essential
to continuing the strong track record of innovation in the academic
community which has driven the computing revolution of the past three
decades.

It is abundantly clear that open and freely implementable standards are in
the public's best interest.  The W3C is a strong organization, and need
not fear "retaliation" from software companies refusing to participate in
the creation of W3C standards.  The World-Wide Web is too important for
any company to ignore.  Even if a company pursues the futile strategy of
withdrawing from the standards process, it will only be sowing the seeds
of its own marginalization; companies, individuals, and organizations that
understand the importance of participating in open standards will benefit,
and the public interest will be served.

   Amit Sahai
   Assistant Professor
   Department of Computer Science
   Princeton University
   35 Olden St.
   Princeton, NJ 08544

Received on Thursday, 11 October 2001 23:52:37 UTC