Re: IBM, Microsoft, BEA Snub W3C

[Stephen Compall <s11@member.fsf.org>]

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On Wednesday 23 April 2003 06:38 am, iriXx wrote:
> maybe, but what can we actually do about this monopoly? it is quite a
> concern - given that IBM and Microsoft have patented much of the
> ebXML technology. shades of the Sun vs MS Java story... when one
> player has enough power over the market, whatever they introduce will
> become a de-facto 'standard' regardless of W3C, as Microsoft have
> already proved by distorting W3C standards in Explorer.
>
> what is the best way to protest against this sort of behaviour? i
> believe Sun treated it as antitrust, but antitrust trials are risky
> and expensive. perhaps lobbying for *implementation* of W3C standards
> is a way forward?

I would go one step further and insist on lobbying for implementation
of *true* royalty-free standards; that is, those that can legally be
implemented in GPL software.  Field-of-use restrictions (such as those
allowed in the current W3C Patent Policy [draft?]) are not acceptable,
and if we find standards defined elsewhere (not in W3C), or we have to
define our own standards.

As Norbert Bollow says on
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-patentpolicy-comment/2003Mar/0021.html,
and again on http://FreeStrategy.info :

    "Standards war" projects

    If the patent holder isn't willing to allow implementation [of
    "open" standards] in Free Software [i.e. Field-of-Use
    restrictions], the Free Software community needs to strongly
    endorse and support an alternative technology for solving the same
    business problems, an alternative which is not restricted by
    patents.

    Such "standards war" projects should use a GPL-compatible
    non-copyleft license such as the MIT X11 license. Use of the code
    of the "standards war" project in all kinds of software, including
    proprietary software, should be actively encouraged in order to
    prevent the patented technology from becoming an effective
    standard.

- -- 
Stephen Compall - Also known as S11001001
DotGNU `Contributor' -- http://dotgnu.org
Jabber ID: sirian@theoretic.com

she says control it
then she says don't control it
then she says you're controlling the way she makes you crawl
        -- Tori Amos, "She's Your Cocaine"

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