Patent policy - RAND may be misguided

Greetings.

Through accidents of history or because of ubiquitous marketshare, there
are many de facto proprietary standards.  Such standards will continue
to be maintained or created anew in the market place.  The purpose of
the W3C, however, is to promote another kind of standard.  W3C standards
are infrastructure.  As such, they should not be used to promote the
market share of any one company.  

I understand a corporation was originally just an ad hoc group of
citizens who got together to perform some business for the public good,
like building a bridge or a road, etc.  Mandating a standard is about
creating an environment that promotes interoperability and simplifies
communication.  It's an activity that is pursued FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.  

Interoperability helps everybody. It promotes diversity on the web,
making it less fragile.  It improves customer satisfaction and loyalty. 
It stimulates innovation by making it possible for developers to build
on a stable foundation.  

Let the market take care of itself. Promote royalty-free standards to
the benefit of both consumers and commercial interests alike.

Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 03:30:10 UTC