patent policy framework draft

Dear W3C Patent Policy Working Group,

                          I'm concerned about the recent Patent Policy
Framework draft, which could allow W3C members to charge royalty fees
                          for technologies included in web standards.

                          In particular, I object to the inclusion of a
"reasonable and non-discriminatory" (RAND) licensing option in the
proposed
                          policy. I believe that the exclusive use of a
"royalty-free" (RF) licensing model is in the best interests of the
Internet
                          community, and that RAND licensing would
always necessarily exclude some would-be implementors, particularly
those who
                          wish to disseminate information on the web in
a non-profit manner.

                          I applaud the W3C for its tradition of
providing open-source reference implementations and its work to promote
a wide
                          variety of interoperable implementations of
its open standards. The W3C can best continue its work of "leading the
Web
                          to its full potential" by continuing this
tradition, and saying no to RAND licensing.

                          Sincerely,

                          Austin Brooks

Received on Wednesday, 10 October 2001 05:03:19 UTC