- From: Nathan Tuck <ntuck1@san.rr.com>
- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 15:44:59 -0700
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
Hello Members of the W3C. Just writing in to register my opinion on your proposal to allow patents that are licensed with RAND licensing terms into official W3C standards. I think this is a bad idea. Having been involved with standards committees in the past, inclusion of patented material without open licensing terms leads in only one direction - towards a reduction in participation and compliance with the standard. In the case that a standards committee is created only for the benefit of and composed only of corporate members, this reduction in participation can frequently be considered "good strategy". However, the W3C looks out for the interests of many institutions and organizations that have no ability or desire to pay royalties for compliance with W3C standards. To continue down this route is to assure the long term irrelevance of the W3C. The lack of leadership and chaos this will create in the web standards community will surely cost us all in the long run. In summary, please reconsider. Sincerely, Nathan Tuck
Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 18:46:35 UTC