[LINK] Fwd: W3C Patents

[Chirgwin, Richard]

Help me here.

The number of already-patented or applied-for Internet technologies is vast
- more than 500, just with "Internet" in the title. Or TCP/IP in
"specification" yields nearly 3,000 patents. Or HTML - more than 3,000. Etc.

Putting this another way: world+dog is trying and sometimes succeeding
gaining patents covering "open" technologies. And it's been going on for
ages. So what's suddenly so horrifyingly different now?

Richard Chirgwin

-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Clarke [mailto:Roger.Clarke@xamax.com.au]
Sent: Friday, 12 October 2001 11:34
To: link@www.anu.edu.au
Subject: [LINK] Fwd: W3C Patents


>Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 18:13:03 -0700
>From: Scott Loftesness <sjl@glenbrook.com>
>Subject: Patents
>To: internet-payments@lists.commerce.net
...
>There's a "firestorm" brewing with respect to the W3C's proposed "Patent
>Policy Framework".  See: <http://www.w3.org/TR/patent-policy/> for the
>specifics of this proposal by the W3C.  The proposal seems to be
>motivated primarily by the W3C's desire to clarify the role of patents
>with respect to specific W3C proposals.  A noble objective -- but it's
>provoked the wrath of many who view patents as significant inhibitors to
>innovation with respect to the web.
>
>Dale Dougherty of O'Reilly posted O'Reilly's opposition to this proposal
>earlier today (see: <http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/761>).
>It is well worth reading and (at least in my mind) provokes parallel
>questions with respect to patents related to Internet payments, their
>impact on standards, etc.
>
>Note in particular, the following excerpts from Dale's argument:
>
>"In fact, we'd like to see the W3C lead the Web community in fighting
>the imposition of patent rights on the Web. As an international
>organization, the W3C should take a global view of the public good and
>oppose the narrow, US-centric view that rationalizes software and
>business-method patents."
>
>And:
>
>"The W3C's responsibility to the entire world of web users must come
>before its obligations to its members."
>
>There are a number of issued patents related to Internet payments on the
>web.  They range from Amazon's "One Click" patent to many more esoteric
>methods.
...

-- 
Roger Clarke              http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

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