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RE: [Fwd: W3C ridiculous new policy on patents]

• From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@i...>
• To: xml-dev@l...
• Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2001 16:07:43 -0500

Ok, having read it:

1.  It significantly raises the bar for creating and administering a WG.
Only the very experienced and knowledgeable should take the Chair of a 
W3C WG, and by that, I mean non-technical savvy.  You will need to be 
someone of Charles Goldfarb's rank to do this work.

2.  It clearly exposes the risks of working in organizations and groups 
without patent disclosure agreements.  That danger has been there all 
along (theft is the WebWay with respect to ideas and notions).

3.  It isn't very strong with regards to disclosure in that sending a 
person without prior knowledge to the WG appears to be sufficient to 
protect the owner from disclosure.  If so, this is a very weak policy 
and will exploited to the maximum.

4.  The presence of the word "standards" all over this document 
reveals both intent and the outcome.  By claiming to be a standards 
organization, the W3C has overstepped its charter and made its 
capture a primary business goal.  Effectively at this point, 
it quits being a means to innovate and is now a means to define 
market.  Whereas before, one only had to participate to be 
informed, capture of the WG Chair assumes strategic importance.

I'd say this puts the brakes onto any development that pretends to 
be moving in Internet Time as that network effect depends a great 
deal on near-real time involvement of large numbers of developers 
and timely feedback and adoption.

This may prove to be a stabilizing force.  The fences have 
come to the range.

len

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