patent policy comment

I realize this comment comes late. However, given all the evidence
that commercial vendors of software technology virutally all depend
on vendor lock-in for their existence, and given that software
patents provide a government-sanctioned monopoly, how does allowing
patented technology into W3 standards advance the common good? By
allowing the lock-in of the entire Internet to a small cabal of
vendors, with the force of law? Yeah, great idea.

Andrew Purtell
NAI Labs, Network Associates, Inc.

Received on Tuesday, 2 October 2001 18:37:10 UTC