- From: rm <async@cc.gatech.edu>
- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 05:39:17 -0400
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
As a software developer and an Internet user, I am alarmed and disturbed by the changes being proposed to the W3Cs patent policy. The royalty free standards endorsed by the W3C have provided a basis for both free software and commercial software to work together creating benefits for users, developers, and vendors. They have fostered widespread information sharing and allowed developers and vendors to support standard methods of interchanging data. By making this change the W3C risks marginalizing its role as an organization fostering interoperability and undermines its ability to lead the web to its full potential. As a developer, I cannot support a policy which has the possibility of again dividing people into two groups: those who can pay to implement a standard and those who cannot implement a standard. I will not accept promises or pledges that the new policy will not prevent any individual from implementing W3C standards. I will recommend against the implementation and use of any standard which is licensed under royalty. I will work towards solutions which can be freely implemented and used by everyone. This is, in my view, a necessity. I therefore strongly urge that the W3C remain a strong, vendor= neutral body for the implementation of high quality royalty-free standards. Sincerely, Rob Melby ---- Robert Melby Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 uucp: ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt4255a Internet: async@cc.gatech.edu
Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 05:39:19 UTC