W3C Patent Policy "Minutes" for 10/28 Meeting

[Seth Johnson <seth.johnson@RealMeasures.dyndns.org>]

(Not clear exactly what this portends.  Some sort of matter
that appears to be contentious with political overtures
specifically mentioned in these very nondescript "minutes"
is receiving submitted objections by yesterday, November 8
("A question of withdrawing from the PPWG was taken
offline").  The three cited texts don't appear to reveal
much.  The "process" document doesn't mention patents, and
appears to just be process of W3C developed externally from
the Patent Policy Working Group.  The two agreements seem to
be contracts covering terms of participation in W3C stuff. 
I've pasted one of them below, but I don't understand its
import.  I have no idea . . .  Seth)

> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-patentpolicy-comment/2002Nov/0000.html

Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 23:18:19 -0800
To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
From: Susan Lesch <lesch@w3.org>
Subject: Summary of 28 October 2002 Patent Policy Working
Group  Teleconference


Hello,

Twenty one people attended the 28 October 2002 Patent Policy
Working Group (PPWG) teleconference. First the group talked
about their presentation to the W3C Advisory Committee in
Boston in November. One participant had circulated four
issues for in-depth treatment, and three more topics were
added. The group plans to work on all of them and select the
top four or so. Next, the group discussed the rules for
filing formal objections which are due 8 November. Degrees
of agreement - unanimity, consensus, and dissent - within
the PPWG were discussed. A question of withdrawing from the
PPWG was taken offline. It was agreed that multiple
organizations can sign on in support of a single formal
objection rather than write duplicates. Finally, the group
talked about how the W3C Process Document [1] would contain
or link to patent policy, and how to work with the W3C
Advisory Board on this. No changes to the Member Agreements
[2,3] were foreseen.

[1] http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Process-20010719/
[2] http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Agreement/Full.html
[3] http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Agreement/Affiliate.html

Best wishes,
-- 
Susan Lesch           http://www.w3.org/People/Lesch/
mailto:lesch@w3.org               tel:+1.858.483.4819
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)    http://www.w3.org/

----

> http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Agreement/Full.html

INTERNATIONAL WORLD WIDE WEB CONSORTIUM PARTICIPATION
AGREEMENT

[Note: This version of the Full Member Agreement, effective
1 July, 2002, was last revised on 19 June, 2002. The
previous version is available at
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Agreement/Full-1996. Also,
please note that on 2 October, 2002, a new fee structure was
put in place.]

Full Member Agreement

CONSORTIUM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT (the "Agreement") dated
as of the day of ____________________________, by and
between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, having an
office at 200 Technology Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts
02139 ("MIT") and the Institut National de Recherche en
Informatique et en Automatique, having an office at Domaine
de Voluceau, Rocquencourt 78153 Le Chesnay Cedex, France
("INRIA"), and Keio University having an office at 5322
Endo, Fujisawa, 252 Japan ("KEIO") and
_______________________________________, having an office at
__________________________________________, (the "Member").

WHEREAS, the Member wishes to participate in the
International World Wide Web Consortium (the "Consortium" or
"W3 Consortium") hosted by MIT, INRIA and KEIO, the purposes
of which are more fully set forth below and in Appendix 1,
which is attached hereto and expressly made a part hereof
("Description of International W3 Consortium" dated October
1994) on the terms and conditions hereinafter provided;

WHEREAS, MIT, INRIA and KEIO have agreed to the Member's
participation as a Full Member in the Consortium, subject to
said terms and conditions; and

WHEREAS, the Member's participation in the Consortium and
cooperation with MIT, INRIA and KEIO under this Agreement
will further the instruction and research objectives of MIT,
INRIA and KEIO in a manner consistent with their status as
non-profit, tax-exempt institutions.

NOW, THEREFORE, MIT, INRIA and KEIO and the Member AGREE AS
FOLLOWS:

1. Purposes of Consortium.

The purposes of the Consortium are to support the
advancement of information technology in the field of
networking, graphics and user interfaces by evolving the
World Wide Web toward a true information infrastructure, and
to encourage cooperation in the industry through the
promotion and development of standard interfaces in the
information environment known as the "World Wide Web."

2. Participation as a Full Member.

The Member hereby agrees to participate in the Consortium as
a Full Member, as described in Appendix 1, and agrees to pay
a membership fee (the "Membership Fee") of Fifty Seven
Thousand Five Hundred ($57,500) Dollars per year for a
period of three years.

Payment will be made in U.S. Dollars to MIT per the schedule
in Appendix 1.

Except as provided for in this Agreement, the Membership Fee
is non-refundable.

3. Term of Membership.

The period of the Member's participation in the Consortium
shall begin the day this agreement is executed and shall
continue in force for three years from the first day of the
calendar quarter in which the member joined; i.e. January
1st, April 1st, July 1st, October 1st.  This term will
automatically be renewed on a yearly basis beyond the
current expiration date _______________, unless one year's
notification is given by MIT, INRIA and KEIO or three
months' notification is given by the member.  The fee for
each renewal will be the fee in force three months prior to
the renewal date.

4. Rights and Obligations of MIT, INRIA and KEIO.

MIT, INRIA and KEIO shall have the following rights and
obligations under this Agreement, which rights and
obligations are more fully described in Appendix 1:

a. MIT, INRIA and KEIO shall use diligent efforts to provide
the vendor-neutral architectural and administrative
leadership required to accomplish the Consortium's goals.

b. MIT, INRIA and KEIO shall use the Membership Fees as
outlined in Appendix 1.

c. MIT, INRIA and KEIO shall establish and maintain a
committee comprised of one representative of each member
organization (the "Advisory Committee"), which shall operate
as set forth in Appendix 1.

d. MIT shall appoint and maintain an MIT-employed Consortium
director (the "Director"), who will act as chief architect
for all specifications produced by the Consortium. The
Director shall have final authority on all decisions
regarding the Consortium's proposals for new standards
pursuant to its Standards Review Process, as set forth in
Appendix 1. INRIA and KEIO shall each appoint a Deputy
Director who report to the Director and manage the
development effort at INRIA and KEIO, respectively.

e. MIT shall collect, maintain and distribute software and
documentation created under the auspices of the Consortium,
as set forth in Appendix 1.

f. MIT, INRIA and KEIO shall establish and maintain Internet
connection and computer resources to facilitate the work of,
and permit the Member with Internet access to communicate
effectively with, the Consortium.

5. Rights and Obligations of Member.

The Member shall have the following rights and obligations
under this Agreement, which rights and obligations are more
fully described in Appendix 1:

a. The Member shall appoint one representative to serve on
the Advisory Committee and to participate in the Standards
Review Process.

b. The Member shall have the right to establish and maintain
computer network links via the Internet with MIT, INRIA and
KEIO sufficient to participate in Consortium activities.

c. The Member shall have access to software and
documentation produced by the Consortium prior to release of
such software and documentation to non-members.

d. Subject to the restrictions contained in this Agreement,
the Member may incorporate Consortium software and
documentation into products at any time after the materials
have been released to the members of the Consortium. The
Member shall not adopt or incorporate such software and
documentation into products prior to such release.

e. The Member may volunteer staff members on short
assignment to MIT and/or INRIA and/or KEIO, who will serve
the Consortium as Visiting Engineers subject to the approval
of the Director and Deputy Director if the scientist is to
visit INRIA and/or KEIO.

f. If the Member has subsidiaries, the rights and privileges
granted under this Agreement shall extend to all
subsidiaries the voting stock of which is directly or
indirectly at least fifty percent (50%) owned or controlled
by the Member.

g. If the Member is itself a consortium, user society, or
otherwise has members or sponsors, the rights and privileges
granted under this Agreement extend only to the paid
employees of the Member, not to its members or sponsors.

6. Use of Names.

The Member will not use the name of MIT, INRIA or KEIO and
MIT, INRIA or KEIO will not use the name of the Member in
any form of publicity without permission which in the case
of MIT shall be obtainable from the Director of the News
Office, in the case of INRIA from the Director of Promotion,
in the case of KEIO from the Administrative Director of The
Keio Research Institute at SFC, and in the case of the
Member from __________________________ .

7. Intellectual Property Rights.

a. Rights of Publication.

MIT, INRIA and KEIO and the Member shall be free to use and
publish any research results, ideas, algorithms, techniques
and other information developed under the auspices of the
Consortium during the term of this Agreement except that
intellectual property described in (b) and (c) below shall
be subject to the licenses specified therein.

b. Ownership of Copyrights and Patents.

The Member agrees that all right, title and interest in and
to any and all software and documentation created or
developed, and in and to all patentable inventions conceived
or first reduced to practice, by the Director, MIT staff or
industrially-employed visitors when working at MIT for the
Consortium shall vest in MIT. To the extent necessary,
Member agrees to execute such assignment documents as may be
required to vest title in MIT, at no expense to the Member.

The Member agrees that all right, title and interest in and
to any and all software and documentation created or
developed, and in and to all patentable inventions conceived
or first reduced to practice, by the Deputy Director, INRIA
staff or industrially-employed visitors when working at
INRIA for the Consortium shall vest in INRIA. To the extent
necessary, Member agrees to execute such assignment
documents as may be required to vest title in INRIA, at no
expense to the Member.

The Member agrees that all right, title and interest in and
to any and all software and documentation created or
developed, and in and to all patentable inventions conceived
or first reduced to practice, by the Deputy Director, KEIO
staff or industrially-employed visitors when working at KEIO
for the Consortium shall vest in KEIO. To the extent
necessary, Member agrees to execute such assignment
documents as may be required to vest title in KEIO, at no
expense to the Member.

Except as provided above, patentable inventions and
copyrighted materials developed jointly by MIT, INRIA and
KEIOand Member pursuing Consortium activities, shall be
jointly owned. Each joint owner shall be entitled to
exercise all rights of ownership as provided by law without,
however, an obligation of accounting from one to the other.
Member understands that MIT, INRIA and KEIO will make all
such jointly owned inventions and copyrights available to
the general public for unrestricted use.

c. Licenses.

MIT, INRIA and KEIO agree to grant and hereby grant to
Member a non-exclusive royalty-free, irrevocable, right and
license to use, reproduce, modify, translate, distribute,
publicly display and publicly perform all computer software
and documentation described in Section 7 (b) throughout the
world, subject to the notices with respect to copyright,
trademarks, and disclaimer of liability which shall appear
on all copies of the software and documentation provided to
the Member by MIT, INRIA orKEIO and which must be reproduced
on each copy reproduced or distributed by the Member.

It is the intention of MIT, INRIA and KEIO to grant to
members of the general public as well as to Member license
rights as described above, including rights to use MIT,
INRIA and KEIO trademarks, if any, relating to W3 products
and services provided they conform to W3 specifications
established by MIT, INRIA and KEIO.

8. Notices.

All notices or other communications to or upon either party
shall be in writing delivered by first class, air mail or
facsimile, dispatched to or given at the following
addresses:

For MIT:

Maria Karatzas
Sr. Contract Administrator
Office of Sponsored Programs, E19-750
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02139
UNITED STATES

For INRIA:

Hervé Mathieu, Vice-President, 
Deputy Executive Officer
INRIA, BP105
Domaine de Voluceau, Rocquencourt
78153 Le Chesnay Cedex
FRANCE

For KEIO:

Tadashi Tatsumi, Administrative Director
Keio Research Institute at SFC
Keio University/SFC
5322 Endo
Fujisawa 252 - 8520
JAPAN

(Snipped Party relationship, termination, warranty,
liability, governing law, etc. clause)


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Agreement to be signed by their duly authorized
representatives, effective as of the day and year first
above written.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

by: ___________________________
      Thomas B. Duff

title: Associate Director, Office of Sponsored Programs

date:___________________________



Institut National de Recherche en 
Informatique et en Automatique

by:____________________________

title: ___________________________

date:___________________________



Keio University

by:____________________________

title: ___________________________

date:___________________________



Member

by:__________________________________

title:_________________________________

address:_____________________________

telephone:____________________________

email:________________________________

signature:_____________________________

date:_________________________________