I oppose the proposal

I am strongly opposed to the proposed change in policy regarding patents.

Until now, cooperation has been the basis for Recommendations. This
cooperation has helped create the World Wide Web as we know it.

If Recommendations come at the expense of a financial pay off to people who
aren't willing to contribute for the sake of the community, then the price
is too high.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who isn't willing to pay for basic, underlying
internet principles and technologies simply because an incompetent Patent
Office has issued an ill-informed decree. I am convinced that many
developers will part ways with the W3C.

This would be disastrous. The W3C is the one surety we have. Thanks to W3C
recommendations, we can all use a common technology base. We all speak the
same root language. If the W3C loses its credibility by becoming a pawn to
Corporate Business interests, then the Web will fracture and we all be
living in our own self-enclosed rooms in a virtual Tower of Babel.


I am writing not just about my fears for the future of the World Wide Web. I
also feel that the proposed policy change goes completely against the
*spirit* of the W3C and the Web itself.

I believe Tim Berners-Lee agrees. Can you imagine what the world would be
like if he had patented the WWW?


I understand that (often spurious) patents have become a fact of life,
particularly in North America. But that is no reason to shrug our shoulders
and resign ourselves to a world based on greed.


In closing, I urge in the strongest possible terms that this proposal be
rejected. We do not need to pander to the base motives of profit.

Yours Sincerely,

-- 
Jeremy Keith

a d a c t i o

http://adactio.com

Received on Wednesday, 3 October 2001 20:24:07 UTC