Your Utter Arrogance is Showing

Hello:  Just got a taste of your behind-the-scenes nonsense.  Do you really 
believe you can convince all the wonderful developers that have contributed 
so much to your organization to continue if you implement your "patent" 
licensing policy?  How many people will contribute to a "front" for private 
software companies like M$ and Adobe.  How absurd.  Monday, you do what you 
think is best for each of your paid workers, but don't expect the world 
community to support your ridiculous decision to "volunteer" a world full of 
developers in order to keep your paid positions a little longer.  I say a 
little longer, because this charade will quickly be unveiled for what it is, 
and without your "volunteers", your work will be done.  The big companies 
think they can unravel Open Source, and it won't pop up again.  Well, they're 
dead wrong, and you are absolutely without moral fibre if you let them take 
this step.  What a shame, and I was so looking forward to working with Batik. 
 Tom

http://www.openphd.net/W3C_Patent_Policy

What You Can Do

   1. As a matter of urgency, send a comment to
www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org before 30 September 2001. You can check
out the current archive of responses here:
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-patentpolicy-comment/.
   2. Spread the word about this issue as soon as possible.
   3. Ask companies that are members of the W3C to give an undertaking
to only support the development of royalty-free standards. This will
require significant change to the Working Draft of the W3C's Patent
Policy Framework.
   4. Do you have a professional relationship with any of the authors or
companies of the Working Draft? If so it may be appropriate to send a
message to the relevant organisation. These are the listed authors of
the Working Draft:
          * Michele Herman, Microsoft, micheleh@microsoft.com
          * Scott Peterson, Hewlett-Packard, scott_k_peterson@hp.com
          * Tony Piotrowski, Philips, tony.piotrowski@philips.com
          * Barry Rein, Pennie & Edmonds (for W3C), barry@pennie.com
          * Daniel Weitzner, W3C/MIT, djweitzner@w3.org
          * Helene Plotka Workman, Apple Computer, plotka@apple.com

      It is also stated here: http://www.w3.org/2001/08/patentnews that
"W3C Members Apple, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, ILOG, Microsoft, Nortel
Networks, The Open Group, Philips Electronics, Reuters, and Sun worked
on this draft together with W3C Team members."

Received on Saturday, 29 September 2001 13:36:14 UTC