Any current working group can be disbanded and converted to a RAND licensing policy
Worse could happen today. Without any "disbanding" of a Working Group (which would require a re-vote of the entire W3C memebership), any company could unleash a submarine patent and demand a payment for all implementations of CSS or friends.
At least the new proposal has rules to play by. That's not to say that the proposed rules are perfect. Just that they are better than no rules at all.
-m
Keep in mind that this doesn't "change" any Working Group activities within the W3C to mandate RAND licensing.
Up front, in the charter, before lots of effort is expended in specification development, the Working Group _chooses_ their royalty terms. Most of the RAND terms under discussion don't involve payments at all, but rather things like cross-licensing. And most working groups (and all that work with "core technologies") are choosing a 100% RF (royalty free) policy.
It comes down to this--what happens when some faceless corporation patents a piece of technology essential to a certain specification? Do you trash the whole spec and start over, or do you deal with the obnoxious licensing?
The propoposal under discussion allows either, and says which is which up front. This is a vast improvement compared to the previous nether-state of patents and licensing within the W3C.
Current standards aren't safe _because_ of the current (a.k.a. nonexistent) W3C patent policy.
As it stands right now, any company could come up with a 'torpedo' patent and lay claim to CSS or HTML or SVG. In fact one company has already "patented" the combination of W3C XForms and W3C XML signatures. When this happens, everyone looses.
At least with a written policy, no company can claim ignorance.
Date: 24 Aug 2001 01:55:07 -0000
From: "Cox Communications San Diego"
Subject: A message from Cox regarding Excite @Home
You may have recently seen reports in the media on the financial condition of Excite @Home, our partner in delivering high-speed Internet service to the San Diego area. We understand that this recent media coverage might cause concern about the future of your service. Please know that we are committed to providing you with reliable high speed Internet service now and in the future.
Excite @Home has not notified us that their situation will render them unable to perform their obligations under our existing business arrangement, nor has it made any announcement that it intends to discontinue service. We remain committed to our existing partnership with Excite @Home, and Excite @Home has reiterated its own commitment to providing outstanding service and support to its 3.7 million subscribers.
Cox?s high speed Internet service is an integral part of our product offerings, and we are dedicated to maintaining uninterrupted high speed Internet service. As always, we will continue to keep you informed on any upcoming changes with your Cox @Home service. Thank you.
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>can someone explain WHY it takes 1000 computers per operation?
Maybe each operation is duplicated 1000 times, and the answer that comes out 998 times is chosen?
I understand that SVG code is ready for moz but not checked in, awaiting approvals, etc.
Question for Those Who Know: Will SVG be "grandfathered" into Mozilla 1.0? Or will it be put on hold for ~6 months for a post-1.0 release?
Thanks,
-m
Any current working group can be disbanded and converted to a RAND licensing policy
Worse could happen today. Without any "disbanding" of a Working Group (which would require a re-vote of the entire W3C memebership), any company could unleash a submarine patent and demand a payment for all implementations of CSS or friends.
At least the new proposal has rules to play by. That's not to say that the proposed rules are perfect. Just that they are better than no rules at all. -m
Keep in mind that this doesn't "change" any Working Group activities within the W3C to mandate RAND licensing.
Up front, in the charter, before lots of effort is expended in specification development, the Working Group _chooses_ their royalty terms. Most of the RAND terms under discussion don't involve payments at all, but rather things like cross-licensing. And most working groups (and all that work with "core technologies") are choosing a 100% RF (royalty free) policy.
It comes down to this--what happens when some faceless corporation patents a piece of technology essential to a certain specification? Do you trash the whole spec and start over, or do you deal with the obnoxious licensing?
The propoposal under discussion allows either, and says which is which up front. This is a vast improvement compared to the previous nether-state of patents and licensing within the W3C.
Current standards aren't safe _because_ of the current (a.k.a. nonexistent) W3C patent policy.
As it stands right now, any company could come up with a 'torpedo' patent and lay claim to CSS or HTML or SVG. In fact one company has already "patented" the combination of W3C XForms and W3C XML signatures. When this happens, everyone looses.
At least with a written policy, no company can claim ignorance.
At least this is what was sent to me.
Date: 24 Aug 2001 01:55:07 -0000
From: "Cox Communications San Diego"
Subject: A message from Cox regarding Excite @Home
You may have recently seen reports in the media on the financial condition of Excite @Home, our partner in delivering high-speed Internet service to the San Diego area. We understand that this recent media coverage might cause concern about the future of your service. Please know that we are committed to providing you with reliable high speed Internet service now and in the future.
Excite @Home has not notified us that their situation will render them unable to perform their obligations under our existing business arrangement, nor has it made any announcement that it intends to discontinue service. We remain committed to our existing partnership with Excite @Home, and Excite @Home has reiterated its own commitment to providing outstanding service and support to its 3.7 million subscribers.
Cox?s high speed Internet service is an integral part of our product offerings, and we are dedicated to maintaining uninterrupted high speed Internet service. As always, we will continue to keep you informed on any upcoming changes with your Cox @Home service. Thank you.
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Senator Kennedy has secured high-speed internet access in his office to "research" this phenomenon in greater depth...