W3C Patents -----> Monopoly Control

This proposal will surely destroy the very nature of the Web, and also 
enable large monopolistic organisations (AOL, MS, etc) to control 
content and accessability.  In the process, many of the benefits that 
are now taken for granted will be eroded.

If the Web had been 'patent encumbered' at its outset, then many 
alternative and valuable technology developments would _never_ have 
happened.   Imagine how happy Microsoft Corporation would be if Linux 
had never progressed beyond a minor project at a single university in 
Helsinki..

Robert Gadsdon
San Jose, California, USA
rgadsdon@got.net

Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 16:22:48 UTC