Standards

If the W3C allows dealing with patents on standards, what will be the
reason to exist for the W3C?

It's W3C's job to make sure everyone gets a chance to use a technology
which is standards-compliant and to make sure which standards will be
standards. With patents, and the licenses that will come with that, many
people won't be able to create and use standards-compliant software.

What does this mean for the W3C? It will mean that their reasons for
existence will become invalid. Even more, it would be better to live
without the W3C because they are limiting possibilities to use standards.

Besides of that, will a standard which is patented be a standard? In my
opinion a standard can only be a standard if it's possible for everyone to
use it.

Makes me wonder what had happened to the web if html was patented...

Received on Tuesday, 2 October 2001 06:04:17 UTC