Concerns about RAND licensing terms

Hi.  I'm writing because I am seriously concerned about the w3c's
emerging policy with respect to patents.  The following analysis:

  http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2001-09-30-001-20-NW-CY

suggests that the w3c may end up creating standards subject to submarine
patents, which seems to me to be an enormous danger.  As an academic
myself, I am particularly concerned about the implications for academic
research based on such standards.  I am also concerned with limitations
on the creation of free software.

I believe that the w3c should require their participants to put their
cards on the table during the standards-making process.  Once that's
done, they shouldn't be able to "discover" patents that cover the
implementation of the standard that they took part in writing.

y

-- 
|--------/            Yaron M. Minsky              \--------|
|--------\ http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/yminsky/ /--------|

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Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 09:06:53 UTC