- From: Amit Sahai <sahai@CS.Princeton.EDU>
- Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 23:51:16 -0400 (EDT)
- To: <www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org>
I strongly support a W3C policy which requires all parties contributing to any W3C standard or recommendation to grant blanket Royalty-Free licenses to any and all patents which cover any aspect of a technology necessary or helpful to implement any standard or recommendation issued by the W3C. I strongly oppose any policy which allows so-called "RAND" licensing. As a member of the faculty at Princeton University, I want to ensure that my students, as well as all other members of the computing community, can implement any W3C standard or recommendation without fear of infringing a patent, or being forced to pay licensing fees. This freedom is essential to continuing the strong track record of innovation in the academic community which has driven the computing revolution of the past three decades. It is abundantly clear that open and freely implementable standards are in the public's best interest. The W3C is a strong organization, and need not fear "retaliation" from software companies refusing to participate in the creation of W3C standards. The World-Wide Web is too important for any company to ignore. Even if a company pursues the futile strategy of withdrawing from the standards process, it will only be sowing the seeds of its own marginalization; companies, individuals, and organizations that understand the importance of participating in open standards will benefit, and the public interest will be served. Amit Sahai Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science Princeton University 35 Olden St. Princeton, NJ 08544
Received on Thursday, 11 October 2001 23:52:37 UTC