Date: 2003/03/22 11:57
From: Carl Vilbrandt <carl@ggpl.org>
To: discuss@ggpl.org
Should Organis design consider the Royalty-Free Patent Policy (W3C) and
other types of compromise?
I tend to think that at the very least try to identify different phases
of the development of the Organis structure based levels of development
of digital technologies.
# "W3C Unveils Its Patent Plans"
CNet (03/19/03); Bowman, Lisa M.
For over three years, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has been
struggling to develop a patent policy that satisfies both open source
proponents who want royalty-free standards and proprietary software
companies who demand payment for the use of their technologies. A
compromise has been struck in the latest draft of the W3C Patent Policy
Working Group's Royalty-Free Patent Policy, which dictates that patented
technology can be incorporated into standards development provided that
it is royalty-free in the majority of cases. "With this final draft, the
Working Group believes it has found a common, workable path that will
encourage the widespread adoption of W3C standards across a wide range
of business models, from proprietary to open source," notes Working
Group Chairman Daniel Weitzner. Among the provisions contained in the
latest version is one that allows technology to be included in Web
standards when it does not adhere to specific inclusion standards, in
which case the consortium's Patent Advisory Group will study ways to
resolve the situation. Another provision included in the latest draft
requires patent holders who want to exclude patented technology from a
standard to notify the W3C of the patent within 90 days after the first
draft of a working paper on the standard is issued. The W3C's patent
policy draft will be open for public comment in six weeks, and the
consortium hopes that its director will approve a final plan in May.
http://news.com.com/2100-1013-993283.html