Patents, Royalties, and Web Standards

This week there is only one web story that matters. The W3C has written a patent policy that opens the door to royalty payments on web standards.

We urge all ALA readers to examine the W3C Patent Policy draft, read The Web Standards Project’s opinion of same, and mail your comments to the W3C before the 11 October cutoff date. Please read the W3C proposal carefully and craft your comments accordingly.

Resources

W3C Patent Policy Draft

WaSP Opinion: “Dangerous and counterproductive”

Michael Rose: Will the Web remain democratic?

Richard Stallman: Royalty-free standards only

The Register: “W3C denies misleading world”

The Register: “IBM risks Linux strategy with RAND demands”

{Note: The W3C’s final policy came down strongly against patents. Nevertheless, in the years since this ALA “emergency” issue was published, we have seen web patents wreak havoc, most notably with the Eolas mess. – Ed.}