RE: Standards (yet again) was RE: Use of XML ?

["Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@ingr.com>]

Typically, it is applied to database extraction where US law provides 

"relief in discretely recognized categories of unfair competition such as
the misappropriation of the commercial value of another's identity or
persona or trade secret protection. In effect, if the proceeding could be
focused and contained to a context that would remain distinct and be
sufficiently identifiable, it would be an effective vehicle to protect that
discrete subject matter."
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ip01058e.html#misappropriation

Part of the idea is that if a misappropriation destroys the marketability 
of information (and SGML will pass the sweat of the brow tests easily as 
well as demonstrate originality), then a copyright violation has occurred 
despite the rewriting of the text.  XML borrows enough SGML concepts 
and text to make this case plausible.

Another approach would be misrepresentation in that the 
original calls for participation were for "SGML On the Web" 
and parties to that subsequently referred often to XML 
as a version of SGML.  The decision to make these references 
in the end product, non-normative, were made privately.  
That could be misrepresentation.

Note to Readers:  we are inquiring into the value of the 
statements in the W3C Specification that reference the 
ISO documents and how that manifests.  With those references, 
it is unlikely that any of the positions taken above would 
apply.   Without them, XML might not pass the "laugh test" 
and the W3C might well have to defend itself in court for 
taking international standards and then calling itself, 
a standards organization, thus becoming an ISO competitor 
by misappropriation of ISO copyrighted material and 
misrepresentation of intent.
  
Again, we are looking at the relationships among legal 
entities, authority, governance, and what protections 
are afforded the users of XML.  Essentially, there are none, 
but the W3C has protected itself by easily discernible means 
in the XML documents.  Whether or not it can do this AND 
be a standards organization is an interesting issue.

Len Bullard
Intergraph Public Safety
clbullar@ingr.com
http://www.mp3.com/LenBullard

Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti.
Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Tobin [mailto:richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk]
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2001 5:02 PM
To: Bullard, Claude L (Len)
Cc: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
Subject: Re: Standards (yet again) was RE: Use of XML ?


>One avenue would be a misappropriation remedy for unfair competition
flowing
>from the seminal authority of International News Service v. Associated
Press
>decided in 1918 by the United States Supreme Court

Once again I have no idea what you mean.  Who would be competing
unfairly with whom?

-- Richard