- From: Michael C. Gilbert <mcg@gilbert.org>
- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 17:13:06 -0700
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
Hello -- Please accept these brief comments of concern about the working draft. I have been involved in noncommercial Internet work for many years now. I am the President of the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network. I publish Nonprofit Online News. I have worked with hundreds of nonprofit organizations and scored of foundations on the future of nonprofit communication technology. I cannot state my concerns strongly enough: To adopt the RAND model will be to undermine the very foundations of the noncommercial Internet. I argue further that to undermine those foundations is to undermine the social value of the Internet itself. A "level playing field" as established by RAND based patent enforcement is impossible. If the playing field is in space, only those who can afford spacecraft can play. The massive amounts of innovation and social good that have come out of free and open standards is almost impossible to measure. But clearly, it would not be impossible to destroy. Don't do it. -- Michael Gilbert P.S. Please keep me informed of progress on this matter. Michael C. Gilbert mcg@gilbert.org ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Gilbert Center: Nonprofit Communication, Incubation, Innovation Social Ecology: <http://www.socialecology.com> Nonprofit Online News: <http://www.gilbert.org/news> Online Fundraising List: <http://www.gilbert.org/fundraising> Gilbert Research: <http://research.gilbert.org> .
Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 20:13:39 UTC