Re: Patent Policy issues...

[adding Ian]

On 3/13/2012 6:23 AM, Carr, Wayne wrote:
> But later is not the same people.  A CG creates a Community Spec where a participant has personal knowledge of patents that contain essential claims.  A WG adopts the Community Spec.  Someone gets sued for implementing.

I agree that this is not water-tight.  But we also need to recognize 
that it is an improvement and that nothing is water-tight.  There are 
other ways that new ideas come to W3C, and they also are not 
water-tight.  They may come from ad hoc standards groups that have no RF 
commitments.  Or a troll can put a patented idea in discussion, it gets 
implemented in Webkit, gets wide adoption, and then shows up at a W3C 
spec.  On balance, I think CGs are an improvement.

>
> The disclosure rules are lightweight.  They involve personal knowledge, not any patent search.  They prevent the situation that someone knows technology being added to a spec is encumbered but the group producing the spec does not.
>
> For the reason Charles mentioned, there should be a disclosure requirement in CGs ( based on personal knowledge like for W3C members and TRs).

I ask Ian for his comments.  When we introduced CGs last year, we also 
said that we wanted to learn from a year's usage and then enhance.  If 
there is a consensus to enhance further - we can do so.

>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Scheppe, Kai-Dietrich [mailto:k.scheppe@telekom.de]
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 1:35 AM
>> To: public-w3process@w3.org
>> Subject: AW: Patent Policy issues...
>>
>> I think it is simply due to the idea that CGs are not meant to produce a
>> recommendation from the onset.
>> This was done make entry for potential participants easier.
>>
>> Rec track can come later, by transitioning into a WG at which point regular
>> process applies.
>>
>>
>>> Anyone know why there aren't disclosure obligations for Member of CGs?
>>> (why members of a CG don't have personal knowledge disclosure
>>> requirements similar to those for any W3C member reading any TR
>>> draft.)
>>
>> -- Kai

Received on Tuesday, 13 March 2012 12:50:46 UTC