- From: L. Adrian Griffis <adrian@nerds.org>
- Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 19:59:11 -0500 (CDT)
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
I don't believe I have seen a single example of any company's attempt that use patents on the Internet that was not appalling and grotesque. No good can come from any willingness on the part of W3C to legitimize these disgraceful artifacts of modern corporation. I am positively against seeing W3C legitimize any standard that is encumbered by patents. I think requiring participants to disclose any patents that they think might be relevant to a standards discussion would be a good idea. If such a patent claim is found to exist, W3C should investigate it, and if any such patent claim is found to be an encumbrance to developers and users, in any way, the standard in question should be modified to avoid the claimed patent, or work on the standard to be discontinued so that no patent encumbered standard will be legitimized by W3C. I think it is important to put these standards in perspective. The health and growth of the Internet has always been at its best where its development is open and free. The proliferation of frivolous patent claims by unscrupulous lawyers and company officers has already been a serious impediment to the development of new tools. Patents for common standards and software have played SO SIGNIFICANT PART in the success of the Internet, today. Encouraging the corporate world to think it will be easy to leach off of the Internet with more frivolous patents will be detrimental to the health of the Internet. No one with a rudimentary understanding of the history of Internet growth can honestly argue that any legitimate use of patent encumbered standards (assuming that there can be legitimate use) is likely to be helpful to the continued growth and health of the Internet. I urge to stick to your guns and keep those common Internet related standards that you influence free of patents and other intellectual property encumbrances. Specific implementations of Internet standards may be legitimate subjects of intellectual property claims, but the standards themselves should not be. Thanks L. Adrian Griffis
Received on Tuesday, 2 October 2001 21:00:05 UTC