- From: Stephen R. Savitzky <steve@theStarport.org>
- Date: 30 Sep 2001 12:08:38 -0700
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
- CC: steve@rii.ricoh.com
I have just found out about the proposed patent policy, http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/WD-patent-policy-20010816/ I oppose it utterly. A standard which is not free for use by anyone is not a standard, it is merely a commonly-used proprietary interface. A policy which allows a patent holder to remain silent about a patent, write it into a standard, and then reap the benefits in the form of "Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory" -- but high -- license fees will utterly destroy both the open Web, and whatever credibility the W3C ever had as a standard-making body. The correct response to the sudden revelation of a patent by a participant in the standard-making process should be the automatic _royalty-free_ licensing of that patent for any purpose relating to the implementation and use of the standard. As for my qualifications, I am a computer-science researcher at Ricoh Innovations, Inc., and the holder of five software-related patents. I am also an open-source software developer and an author (of web pages, among other things). -- / Steve Savitzky \ 1997 Pegasus Award winner: best science song--+ \ / <steve@theStarport.org> http://theStarport.com/people/steve/ V \ \ hacker/songwriter: http://theStarport.com/people/steve/Doc/Songs/ \_ Kids' page: MOVED ---> http://Interesting.Places.to/Browse/forKids/ _/
Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 15:16:29 UTC