No FoU in W3C standards (pretty pretty pleaaase)

http://www.finlaysons.com.au/ipt/field_of_use.htm

"More value can be extracted from patents if they can be divided into
different areas and fields where those patents can be used and sold to
different parties."

Now. Who cares how much value can be extracted from a patent? True, the
patent holder herself may care a bit, but it is definitely not the task
of W3C to stand for it in any circumstances.

The WWW is a framework that - among other things - can be used to make
good profit, but the standardization process itself can not be made into
a vehicle of profit-making. Should such a policy be adopted, it would
open up a wide avenue for corruption inside W3C.

For if any patent (Essential Claim) were incorporated into a W3C
Recommendation with a "Field of Use" clause expressly permitted by the
W3C RF licensing requirements contained in the present draft of W3C
Patent Policy, restricting its free use to "implementations of the
Recommendation" would mean that the patent holder could claim royalty
for any application that is not covered by the Recommendation while
enjoying a magnificient free (free as in free bier, not free speech)
advertisement campaign all over the web community. By any other means an
ad campaign of this magnitude would cost at least several hundred
million bucks, so we are talking about big money, not just a couple of
dimes.

It is as simple as that. If big money invades a field other than
business, then honor, common sense, reason, professionalism should leave
and ugly corruption comes in. Do you really wish to get involved in such
a mess?

I hope you know at least as much about computing &. informatics as I do.
If so, you should realize that in this field there are always several
different ways to do things properly. If some of them are blocked by an
Essential Claim that would not yield to unrestricted free use, then be
smart and choose another way.

Just like a creek that goes on its course.

Peace,
Peter

Peter Berenyi
Systems Administrator
email: b-e-r@m-u.e-l-e-n-d-e-r.n-e-t (you don't see dashes, do you?)
mobile +36 20 411 0580

___________________________________________

A machine of which we were possessed, might be applied by every man to
any use of which it is susceptible, and this right ought not to be taken
from him and given to a monopolist. -- Thomas Jefferson

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      ): :(
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       "-"

Received on Thursday, 19 December 2002 13:42:30 UTC