patent logic

• From: S. Vikram <svikram@analytica-india.com>
• Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 09:50:07 +0530
• To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
• Message-Id: <01101809500707.01405@phaedrus>

Logic :
1. If you create a protocol and charge for it, big corporations will 
"re-engineer" or change it in some way, so that they can use it without 
paying you. Ergo, if you are a "small" fry, you are not really going to 
benefit from the standard that you created. Unless you have a very smart 
lawyer and very deep pockets. Know anybody (individual) who's won a case 
against a big corporation ??

2. The only people who can afford to create a protocol, and make it a 
standard that everybody else uses are companies with very huge marketing 
muscle - a handful that we know about.

3. When these big companies create a "standard", then by default we get 
locked in, and even if you've actually created the protocol on which their 
standard was based, I think you might find that you now have to pay them to 
use it.

Just my two bits worth, but we (from India) like open standards for the sole 
reason that knowledge is cheap and plentiful, and dollars are expensive.. :-)

regards,
Vikram.

Received on Thursday, 18 October 2001 00:18:46 UTC