compatible with GPL?

• From: Bayle Shanks <bshanks@stanford.edu>
• Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 14:01:28 -0800
• To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
• Message-ID: <20030319220127.GA14249@bayle>

I think it's not too much to ask that any standard that the w3c promulgates
be implementable by GPL programs? I am not a lawyer, but I have heard
that there the "The license may be suspended if the licensee sues the
licensor;" and the "Field of use" restrictions may produce GPL
incompatibility. 

You can guess the firestorm that would ensure should legitimate W3C
recommendations be unimplementable by GPL software. The recommendation
would either have to be withdrawn, or free software types would have
to ignore the recommendation and follow the conflicting recommendation
of some alternate standards body. 

Why allow the chance of this? The most likely outcome is a big waste
of time and money and the withdrawal of the Recommendation. Why not
simply make the Policy tighter to begin with?

Thanks for your time,
  bayle

Received on Wednesday, 19 March 2003 17:25:18 UTC