Patents Will Interfere With Existing Market-Driven Processes

The Internet was founded on the open RFC-driven process of developing
and enforcing standards.  The success of the Internet continues to
depend on this.  If patents were used to define these standards, we
would end up with a closed system that would lead to less innovation
and less potential for growth of the Internet.

The chief strength of the Internet, the primary source of its growth
and innovation, is the very un-patented standards it is based on.
This allows new technologies to build upon the existing Internet
freely and for uncontrolled innovation to proceed within purely
market-driven principles.

This change must be ruled out in the interests of the existing open,
free and truly market-driven process.

Eric Hendrickson
Albedo Applications, LRP
edh@crystalcave.net

Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 14:33:25 UTC