Re: [xml-dev] RAND issues

[Steve Muench <Steve.Muench@oracle.com>]

Oracle has also expressed its support for Royalty Free
and against RAND to the W3C on several occasions during
this debate.
 
Don Deutsch is our W3C Advisory Committee rep.

_____________________________________________________________________
Steve Muench - Developer, Product Manager, XML Evangelist, Author
"Building Oracle XML Applications" - www.oreilly.com/catalog/orxmlapp
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Orchard" <orchard@pacificspirit.com>
To: "Tim Bray" <tbray@textuality.com>; <xml-dev@lists.xml.org>
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2001 7:06 AM
Subject: Re: [xml-dev] RAND issues


| Agreed, and that's pretty much our position as expressed to the w3c.  We 
| need to keep the entry requirements to web services as low as possible, and 
| RF is a key plank in that platform.
| 
| Cheers,
| Dave
| BEA W3C AC rep
| 
| At 12:02 PM 10/4/01 -0700, Tim Bray wrote:
| >I think that those standards which have to live in the
| >space where you might have to pay a toll to use them are
| >precisely those which W3C should stay away from.  Yes they
| >exist - e.g. the IEEE standardizes lots of things which you
| >have to pay patents to use - but the reason the Web is
| >interesting is that anyone can play without having to pay
| >for permission.  I'm not interested in playing RAND games.
| >I'm not interested in a Web where Open-Source efforts are
| >second-class citizens.
| >
| >I think that the W3C should adopt a policy of involving itself
| >only with RF patents, recognize that this is difficult and
| >complicated, and just deal with it.  Tools that are available
| >to achieve this goal include:
| >
| >- requiring diligent search and disclosure from all members,
| >   not just those who participate in particular WGs, for IP
| >   that may stand in the way of some task or another
| >- where such IP exists and the holder isn't willing to grant
| >   RF, changing the standard to work around the IP
| >- use of the bully pulpit and any other leverage the W3C can
| >   bring to bear to make it very painful for anyone who tries to
| >   set up a tollbooth on W3C output
| >- declining to enter standardization activities where it
| >   appears that RF status can't be achieved
| >
| >I think this is very important. -Tim
|