RE: [xml-dev] Cutting special deals for open source developers --noway!

["Champion, Mike" <Mike.Champion@SoftwareAG-USA.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Benjamin Franz [mailto:snowhare@nihongo.org]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 1:10 PM
> To: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
> Subject: RE: [xml-dev] Cutting special deals for open source 
> developers
> -- noway!
> 
> 
> On Tue, 16 Oct 2001, Jonathan Robie wrote:
> > Of course, we will have patents related to *efficient* 
> implementation of
> > XQuery.
> 
> Yargh.
> 
> That just raised the evil specter of a (hypothetical) design 
> that can be implemented with exponential run time for free and polynomial 
> or better run time _only_ via patent encumbered algorithms.

Perhaps ... but what could the W3C *possibly* do about the situation? It
can't fix the software patent system, and it can't control what its members
do except as it pertains to participation in the development of W3C
Recommendations ...

The W3C provides a forum for internet vendors to come together and discuss
this stuff.  If vendors haven't done their due diligence approve a W3C
Recommendation that can't be implemented efficiently without licensing their
competitor's patents, that's their problem, not the W3C's.

As Alastor Moody reminds us frequently, the only way to counter evil is
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"  http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/moody.html
<grin>  And god(s) help those who delegate this task to the Ministry of
Magic, oops, I mean the W3C.