proposed W3C patent policy

Dear W3C Patent Policy Working Group:

My name is David S. Touretzky.  I'm a senior faculty member in the
Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University.  I write to
you today to urge you to reject any proposal that would allow
commercial (not royalty-free) patents to be incorporated into any web
standard.

The Web has become a crucial component of western civilization, and is
contributing to the westernization of less developed countries.  The
technologies underlying it must be accesible to all, without licensing
fees or other impediments.  Much software today is developed in
noncommercial settings, e.g. by students and hobbyists, and is freely
distributed.  Forcing a developer to pay licensing fees in order to be
able to use essential Web technologies would cripple the development
of free software.

I don't want the Web controlled by corporations who can use patent
fees as barriers to entry, reducing the ability of others to produce
new software for the public good.  This is not in anyone's interest.

Please adopt a policy requiring roylaty-free licenses for any patented
technologies that are proposed as Web standards.

Sincerely,

-- Dr. David S. Touretzky
   Principal Scientist
   Carnegie Mellon University

Received on Friday, 5 October 2001 23:18:01 UTC