- From: <simeon.morgan@ideas.com.au>
- Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2001 12:39:56 +1000
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
Dear reader, I am writing to put forward my concerns with regard to use of RAND licensed technologies in the web standards. I believe that use of RAND technologies in web standards could have the effect of pushing small providers (such as the average citizen with access to a web server) from being able to provide web content to other users to the fullest potential of the internet. I fear that using patented technologies will have the long-term effect of causing small personal web content to be limited in the technologies it uses while still conforming to web standards, allowing only larger players (probably commercial entities) to provide the full plethora of web services. Also, with groups not centric on profit (such as universities, not-for-profit organisations etc.) licensing of RAND technologies may not be an efficient or viable option, preventing them (especially university information technology departments) from providing the best public information and resources possible. At a time when universities in Australia are attempting to cost-cut, I feel the added burden of RAND licensing could make education even more costly and difficult when not only do the technologies being served require licenses, but also additional licenses for those studying those technologies running personal servers and similar in an attempt to futher extend their knowledge. Up till now, the internet has tended to remain by and large a blissfully patent free environment, in so far as wherever there is a patented option of technology, an equivalent non-patented technology generally exists that may be used as an alternative. On a side not, it is also possible that RAND licensed technologies could end up being discriminatory if significant safeguards are not put in place. For example, if a patented technology is used in a web standard can a corporate entity be trusted to account for provision of that technology to all available platforms? In this way, unpatented and openly documented technologies have the significant advantage that it puts the responsiblity for support under any given system to the users of that system, and provides the basics they would need to develop support for that system. It also provides the ability for competition in provision of the technologies, ideally allowing for improvement and optimisation of the software supporting the technology over time. For these reasons, I urge the w3c not to permit RAND technologies, nor any other patented technologies, to seep into web standards. Thank you for your time and attention. Simeon Morgan Software Developer IDEAS! eCentre Melbourne, Australia
Received on Sunday, 7 October 2001 22:42:41 UTC