New Patent Proposal

Gentlemen,
I know you are trying to find a compromise that will allow the best technology to be used in an open way, but I think you are missing the whole point of the web. It is supposed to be a free-flowing community where ideas can be exchanged and new technologies can be developed and accelerated to market. If you allow patented technology to become part of a web "standard", you will stifle the freedom that we all now enjoy. Even if the patent holder initially agrees to provide the technology free of a licensing fee, they can eventually change their minds (especially once a number of products have successfully hit the market using this technology) and begin charging royalties later on in the process. If this is allowed, there will be no "web standard" that will allow applications to interact. Everyone will be trying to use free, "proprietary" technology. The only ones that will use the "standard" will be the Microsoft's of the world who can afford to pay the royalty fee that is thrown their way after the product bcomes successful. This will destroy the dreams of many programmers who wish to start their own business based on an application they created with truly open standard technology. It will also stifle job growth in the industry. Yes, Microsoft, AOL, IBM, and Sun employ huge numbers of people. However, it is the small startups of the world that employ the majority of people. It is a proven fact in all of the economic literature I have read. If you stifle the creation of those small start up companies, you will stifle the programmers that they would have employed. Please, reconsider your decision and do not allow patented technology to become part of any standard.

Russ Howard
President, Eagle Software Systems

Received on Monday, 28 January 2002 14:40:01 UTC