News Release: W3C Issues Patent Policy Draft, Reviews to start today

Today, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) began what it expects to be
the final review of the proposed Royalty-Free Patent Policy. A new draft
has been published; the review period has been extended to allow for
public and W3C Member comments alike.

For more information, please contact Janet Daly, W3C Head of
Communications, at +1 617 253 5884.

World Wide Web Consortium Issues Draft of Patent Policy
Final Public and Member Reviews of Royalty-Free draft to start today

This press release, on the Web
http://www.w3.org/2003/03/patentpolicy-pressrelease.html.en

in French
http://www.w3.org/2003/03/patentpolicy-pressrelease.html.fr

in Japanese
http://www.w3.org/2003/03/patentpolicy-pressrelease.html.ja

Summary of Patent Policy
http://www.w3.org/2003/03/19-patentsummary.html

Patent Policy Working Group Royalty-Free Patent Policy
http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/WD-patent-policy-20030319/


http://www.w3.org/ -- 19 March 2003 -- Today, the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) began what it expects to be the final review of the
proposed Royalty-Free Patent Policy. The W3C Patent Policy aims to solve
a specific problem -- to reduce the threat of blocking patents on key
components of Web infrastructure. Both W3C Members and the general
public are encouraged to participate in the review, which is scheduled
to last for six weeks, ending on 30 April. The W3C Director's decision
on the final policy, which takes into account the full range of
feedback, is expected in May 2003.

"This policy, put together by a diverse and knowledgeable group,
furthers the spirit of innovation on which the Web has thrived,"
explained Daniel J. Weitzner, Patent Policy Working Group Chair and
Leader of the W3C's Technology and Society Domain. "Thousands of hours
have gone into the development of this policy, including participation
of W3C Members and invited experts from the Open Source/Free Software
community. Our work has also benefitted greatly from the voluntary
efforts of members of the public who read and responded to the various
drafts."

After Three Years of Work, Diverse Parties Create a Common Path

The W3C Patent Policy Working Group was launched in October 1999, after
a patent claim against P3P derailed the development of that technology.
Based on a legal analysis of the claim, the threat was removed, and work
successfully resumed. This and other experiences raised awareness of
patent issues in the W3C Membership. The Working Group was created in
part to make more concrete how W3C Working Groups could successfully
work on Web standards in the evolving patent climate.

"Developing policy in this complex and often contentious area is
difficult," continued Weitzner. "I commend all of the participants in
the Working Group for working hard to build consensus around this
proposal. No single group -- patent holders, open source developers or
users -- got everything it wanted. But with this final draft, the
Working Group believes it has found a common, workable path that will
encourage the widespread adoption of W3C standards across a wide range
of business models, from proprietary to open source."

Participants in the Working Group include: AOL; Apple Computer; AT&T;
Avaya; Daisy Consortium; Hewlett-Packard Company; IBM; ILOG S.A.; Intel;
Lexmark; Microsoft Corporation; MITRE; Motorola; Nokia; Nortel Networks;
The Open Group; Oracle Corporation; Philips Electronics; Reuters, Ltd.;
Sun Microsystems; Xerox Corporation; as well as invited experts from the
Free Software Foundation, Software in the Public Interest, and the Open
Source Initiative.

Proposed Policy Keeps W3C Work Open and Recognizes the Existence of
Patent Holdings

The primary goal of the W3C Patent Policy Working Draft is to enable W3C
Recommendations to be implemented on a royalty-free basis. The policy
also requires patent disclosure by W3C Members when they are aware of
patents -- their own or others -- that may be essential to the
implementation of W3C Recommendations.

In simple terms, the Patent Policy provides that:

      * All who participate in the development of a W3C Recommendation
must agree to license essential claims (that is, patents that block
interoperability) on a royalty-free (RF) basis.
      * Under certain circumstances, working group participants may
exclude specifically identified patent claims from the Royalty-Free
commitment. These exclusions are required shortly after publication of
the first public Working Draft, reducing the likelihood that surprise
patents will jeopardize collective Working Group efforts.
      * Patent disclosures are required from W3C Members and requested of
anyone else who sees the technical drafts and has actual knowledge of
patents that may be essential.
      * Patent claims not available with terms consistent with the W3C
Patent Policy will be handled by a dispute resolution process.

Process for Handling Technologies in conflict with W3C Patent License
Requirements

In some cases, W3C may become aware of technologies proposed for
inclusion in Web standards that are not available according to the
conditions defined in the Patent Policy. These conflicts could be caused
by the patent holder wanting to charge a fee, or because of
inconsistencies with of one of the nine other Patent Policy licensing
requirements. In this case, W3C will convene a "Patent Advisory Group"
(PAG) to investigate the issue. Each PAG consists of representatives
from W3C Members participating in the Working Group. The PAG may
recommend a legal analysis of the patent, instruct the Working Group to
attempt to design around the patent or remove the patented feature, or
may suggest stopping all work in the area.

If all avenues to reach a result consistent with W3C Licensing
requirements have been exhausted, the PAG may recommend to the W3C
Membership that the technology be included anyway. Such a recommendation
requires that the precise licensing terms are publicly disclosed and
will be subject to review by the public, the W3C Membership, and the
Director.

According to Weitzner, the W3C Patent Policy Working Group chose to
include a narrow window for considering non-royalty-free license terms
in a desire to preserve a degree of flexibility for unexpected
situations. The policy retains its fundamental commitment to
royalty-free standards for the Web. "In crafting the exception process,
we have proposed a multistage process with feedback and approvals. As a
result, nearly unanimous support is required for such exceptions. This
should only be used in rare cases and is only available after all other
alternatives have been tried."

Scope of W3C Patent License Requirements and Impact on Patent Holders

The premise of the proposed policy is that it is in the interests of all
who participate in building and using the Web -- including patent
holders and all others alike -- to enable royalty-free implementation of
Web standards. To this end, the policy doesn't require giving up one's
entire patent portfolio; it concerns only those patent claims held by
W3C Working Group participants that are essential to implement the
specific W3C standard.

W3C Patent License Requirements Consistent with Open Source/Free
Software Terms

The W3C Royalty-Free license requirements are now consistent with
generally recognized Open Source licensing terms. This Royalty-Free
definition provides an assurance that the Recommendations themselves are
truly available to all users and implementors.

W3C Members, Public, Invited to Comment

In a special extended review period, W3C is soliciting feedback from
both the W3C Membership and the general public, and has provided a
summary of the Patent Policy for interested parties. Those with comments
may send them to the Patent Policy mailing list, which is publicly
archived. The Comment period for this final draft begins today and ends
30 April.



Contact Americas, Australia --
Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe --
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94
Contact Asia --
Saeko Takeuchi <saeko@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170


About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing
common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its
interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run
by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the
European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM)
headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided
by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World
Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample
applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 430
organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information see
http://www.w3.org/

Received on Wednesday, 19 March 2003 10:06:12 UTC