Patent Policy

To whom it may concern:

The W3C has the moral authority it does because it advances completely open 
standards that let anyone start and run an Internet-based enterprise.  The 
Patent Policy you have under consideration attempts to strike a reasonable 
balance between the rights of IP holders and the rights of IP users, but it 
is missing one vital ingredient.

You should add a section requiring members to fully disclose any patent 
issues that might arise from the consideration of a W3C standard, and giving 
up licensing rights to the protocols listed in the standard if such 
disclosure is not made.  It will be all to easy for companies like Microsoft 
to hide pending patents until a standard is widespread and then start 
charging people to use or develop software using those standards.  
Intellectual property is not, by itself, evil.  However, the W3C should do 
everything in its power to avoid being the vehicle for a sneak attack on the 
market and thereby throwing away your brand equity and your moral authority.

Sincerely,
Chris Woodard

Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 16:53:15 UTC