[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] RE: New W3C Patent Practice
The policy works for me because it reflects reality. Non-RF if available, RAND if gettable, private negotiations otherwise. The decision is made relative to the perceived value of the patent to the importance of the specification. <cynicalCommentary> Actually, that tilt will not be changed by the policy. The idea that the web has been driven by open source or individuals is largely an illusion of our own making much again like those investment bankers working hard with the press to make the public assume all the risk for investments which were flakey from the get-go while they made unreasonable profits. The patents are there. The W3C imprimatur is only as strong as the interests of the dues-paying members of the W3C want it to be. When it quits serving their interests, it will vanish like the dot.com portfolios. This situation will get steadily worse. Why? Right now, the webHeads are still naively believing there is only One Evil Empire to be defeated and can't see how that overfocus blinds them to the ever present dangers of buy outs, mergers, and other means of controlling public and private assets. If the AOL acquisition of Red Hat goes through, it will be interesting to see how long Red Hat sustains an interest in open source software once AOL decides that owning a suite of integrated applications is a better solution to getting market share over yetAnotherFrivolous lawsuit. We replace our machines every two years. Again, it won't be as hard to replace one king of the hill with another if the dirt underneath their feet can be made to cascade into a landslide. Was it better to go public to get rich, or build up market share then sell the company? Both ways worked until the public got wise and quit buying.</cynicalCommentary> If you want that freedom to innovate, you have to design it into the specs and standards, not depend on an authority bound to the very companies whose existence depend on taking and holding market share. Pay attention to what Steve Newcomb is saying. Even if you don't like his technical solution, his point is right on, but even then, balancing private control with public interests is a never-ending struggle. len -----Original Message----- From: Mike Champion [mailto:mc@x...] The RAND policy would "tilt the playing field" in favor of the large companies with deep pockets and extensive portfolios of patents to cross license, thus stifling the innovation by small companies and even individuals that has so famously driven the evolution of the Web...
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