- From: <bigzirk@mac.com>
- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 10:20:03 -0700
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
I am sure others can state the case for keeping the web patent free better than I can. However, I will speak out. It is my opinion that the web should remain as patent free as is humanly possible. I recall an ad Apple ran in 1984 for the macintosh with the girl and the sledgehammer. While I have no illusions that Apple and the macintosh would be the next Microsoft, if they could, I believe that ad sent a powerful message of a dream. That dream is being realized today--not by Apple, but by the web and the open source/free software movement. How has this happened? I'm sure other's can tell you the how's a lot better than I can, but I'll tell you the why--- it is because human beings thrive on freedom. The free nature of the web, and the open source/free software movement which is founded on the same principles, is allowing people freedom to act individually, collectively, and intellectually in a way never before possible. It is a revolution. The web and free software represent that which is the best of the human spirit. Let me give you my testimonial. I am young lawyer who is somewhat disillusioned by my fellow professionals. We are a wicked lot. In my life, I've traveled a lot, and I have a very active interest in all things international. What I've noticed is that there are literally thousands of the best and brightest people in the world frozen out of western society, frozen out of technology, and frozen out of education by the place of their birth and their lack of money. All of you know highly motivated people, people you'd be proud to have marry into your family, who cannot come to the United States, or Canada, or Germany, or Britain, or where ever we live, or where ever they could contribute the most to world prosperity. Instead, they take jobs as interpreters or legal clerks to Western corporations in Prague or Bucharest, and they feel wealthy making $1 an hour. Some spend time hiding in bomb shelters in the old Yugoslavia, some flee Islamic fundamentalism-- you know the drill. The ones who come to the United States end up facing another hurdle--the immigration lawyer---to the tune of thousands of dollars. This is where W3C, the web, free software and I come in. I'm a poor idiot, not funded by anyone but myself. I've taught myself Linux, HTML, security, PHP, SQL, and probably a dozen lesser technologies in my free time (what free time, you ask--hey, I'm a govt. attorney, I reply). And I am well on my way to creating a web based, ASP model, turbo-tax for visas web page that will allow anyone with web access to learn how to, and actually apply for, a visa. I've got a business model I'm willing to risk that will allow many, if not all, to apply without paying anything or paying just enough to cover my fixed costs like postage until they have been granted their visa and come to America (Have you met an immigration lawyer that will only charge if he is successful? I haven't). And then when they pay, they are going to only owe a small fraction of what they would owe an immigration attorney. It is my guess that they will get as good or better service than they would from a live attorney 90% of the time, and the software should be able to detect the 10% that really do need a live attorney. I've been able to start this project (and will be able to deploy my first commercial site which will work only for nurses sometime early next year) and see it through nearly to completion only because of open source/free software and the freedom of the web. If you start letting patents infect the web more, you are going to slowly but surely squelch projects like mine. You only have to look to Redmond to see the writing on the wall---software patent holders are going to try and put the squeeze on everyone. This will only get worse if Redmond becomes marginalized by free software---which is bound to happen if they squeeze users. If you allow patents in your standards, you will just create more ways to squeeze the user, who really is a pawn in this whole game. Maybe that will be a good thing, as it will increase the free software community's desire to blow intellectual property wide open, maybe that will cause the E.U. to ignore patents. But before that happens, I am certain placing any more patents on the web will hamper freedom more than it will help. We are currently becoming locked in a war over the morality of intellectual property. The web represents all that is good and possible because of freedom. Microsoft and big pharmaceutical represent the other side. You, at W3C, have been placed in a position of trust, and it is your responsibility to protect the growth of free exchange fostered by the web. If you allow patents, you will have lost a battle. And perhaps you will have joined forces with Redmond. Make the right choice. Jonathan Zirkle AlphaImmigration.com
Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 13:21:11 UTC