Well-intentioned but misguided ?

It's clear that the intention of this proposal is to
prevent certain situations that have occurred in the
past from arising. Where a standard or a piece of 
technology has been thought to be unencumbered by
patents, some party has suddenly come forward and
announced that they have a claim on a part or all
of the technology that has been applied.

To that end, it is a good idea to force participating
members to declare any claims they might have at the
outset, or to forever hold their peace. It also makes
sense to make a decision, when claims can be upheld, to
continue the project and offer it to the public for a 
nominal fee. 

Unfortunately, like many well-intentioned but potentially
misguided policies, it is vulnerable to misuse by certain
organisations. We could now see the situation where 
participating members want to push their own piece of 
patented software within a working group so that they can
derive some revenue. You only need to look at the list of 
members of the PPWG to see that this is well and truly on
the cards.

What measures will be put in place to ensure that technology
is chosen on merit, not on the basis of the loudest voice
(or smartest lawer)?

Received on Wednesday, 3 October 2001 19:21:29 UTC