- From: Michael Burford (GetRight) <mjb@getright.com>
- Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 14:31:02 -0700
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
As a shareware programmer, I don't think anything can be "reasonable." What may be "reasonable" for a huge company with a big budget can be impossible for a small developer. Some of the biggest innovations and ideas have come from small groups or even just one person...including the web browser itself; Napster; etc. The web and Internet would not be what it is today without the innovations and ideas and efforts of small companies and individuals--efforts that might be impossible or prohibitive if there are patent restrictions and royalties. If there had been patent restrictions would the first Mosaic web browser have been developed? Would the first graphical email clients like Eudora have been done? Or would TCP/IP even have become a standard in the first place--every company with its own proprietary network protocols? With patent restrictions, there might not even be a web or Internet. And the next "Internet" or "web" revolutionary idea might not happen. -Michael Burford www.getright.com
Received on Friday, 12 October 2001 17:17:09 UTC