After long, divisive debate, the W3C has finally agreed on a policy for web standards that depend on technologies for which the patent holders demand royalties. The policy is to eschew standards that depend on patents at all, but in very rare cases to permit them. The rare cases in which standards might require royalties would have to be approved by a special panel, and the licensing terms would have to be fully disclosed and subject to public review. Quoting Daniel Weitzner, chair of the W3C Patent Policy Working Group: "Anyone who thinks that's going to be an easy way to squeeze fees out of Web standards I think is mistaken."
Posted by
Peter Suber at 5/22/2003 11:21:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
