Re: [xml-dev] RE: W3C Rants (was: RE: W3C as Golden Goose ...)

[Dave Winer <dave@userland.com>]

"> As for their performance, it is easy when
> the bank accounts are flush.  Let's see how
> they fare as economic conditions remove
> the abundant free labor supply and the
> work force narrows to member contributions
> from thosw who understand the value
> of their patents in a consortium that
> enables them to lock in market share
> by pretending to offer standards over
> specifications"

Bravo Claude.

When it was time to submit SOAP 1.1 to the W3C, there was an issue of
assignment of IP rights. I gladly turned over all our rights in the SOAP
protocol to the W3C without a second thought. In the future, I will not do
that if it means contributing for free something that other W3C members are
trying to control.

I joined the Web because it stood against the kind of control that it is now
flirting with recognizing. I'm in favor of smoking out the greed, make the
W3C incompatible with patents because the Web is incompatible with patents.
If the W3C turns away from the Web, the Web will go on without the W3C. It
stands for something -- that's why I got involved.

I wrote a position paper on this on Sunday that I would like to now insert
into the record.

http://davenet.userland.com/2001/09/30/patentsAndTheW3c

Dave