RAND

Hello,

I've just read the Patent Policy WG FAQ and I have grave concerns about the 
world wide web consortium pursuing this avenue.

The value of the W3C is dependent on the value of the standards it 
promulgates. The value of those standards depends on their widest adoption by 
the global internet community.  Adoption by the internet community is 
dependent on the ease and value of implementing those standards.

As a member of the internet community since 1984, I've seen a few standards 
come and go.  

As an inventor with a few patents, I know exactly what the value of patents 
are.  Companies and individuals do not go through the work of obtaining 
patents because it is fun, or inexpensive. They do so with the intention of 
profiting from them before they expire.

Allowing patented technologies to become w3c standards will benefit no one 
except the patent holder.  Having the internet community given the choice of 
supporting w3c standards and paying license fees or developing non-patented 
pseudo-standards will result in a plethora of divergent and redundant 
standards in use.  The value of the w3c will go into the toilet.

I urge you to disband the working group and abandon this policy from 
consideration.

regards,
Dr. Andrew E. Mossberg, 
Chief Technical Officer, Asoki Corporation
Chief Information Officer, CruisExcursions.com
President, Inicom, Inc.
Director, Fuzzy Theory LLC.

Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 12:58:39 UTC