Re: [Patents] Re: IBM, Microsoft, BEA Snub W3C

[Russell McOrmond <russell@flora.ca>]

On Fri, 25 Apr 2003, Richard Stallman wrote:

>     >   Anything relating to business interactions makes more sense in OASIS
>     > than in W3C.  "OASIS and the United Nations jointly sponsor ebXML, a 
>     > global framework for e-business data exchange."
> 
> It ought to be a scandal if the UN is sponsoring a world standard that
> many computer users are forbidden to implement.  Perhaps we can pursue
> that angle.  Can anyone find out which part of the UN is doing this?

From: http://www.ebxml.org/
"Development of the ebXML specifications is an on-going effort sponsored 
by OASIS and UN/CEFACT. "

United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business  
http://www.unece.org/cefact/

  We may believe it ought to be a scandal if the UN picks brand favorites,
pretty much always out of incumbent industrialized nations, for a UN
communications standard.  I don't think that policy makers are seeing this
issue clearly yet, and we have a lot of work ahead of us.


  We need to remember that WIPO is also a special agency of the United
Nations, and is an agency at the core of expansion of interface copyright
(WPPT treaty and the legal protection of TPM which is just a back door to
interface copyright) and the Patent Treaty (with the USA threatening to
leave negotiations if there are any statutory limits to patenatability).

More on The Patent Cooperation Treaty
http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/
(Largely harmonization efforts, harmonizing something at a multinational 
level that does not have public policy stability domestically -- a bit of 
an insane situation).


This is the section of the Performances and Phonograms Treaty which the
USA is suggesting can only be interpreted as the oppressive DMCA which 
effectively circumvents limits to to interface copyright.
http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs/en/wo/wo034en.htm#P143_21153


<sarcasm>

  Given the United States isn't a fan of the United Nations at the moment,
I wonder if US policy makers will stop using the UN as a conduit for
expanding worldwide their extremist interpretations of copyright and
patent protectionism?

</sarcasm>

---
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>
 Any 'hardware assist' for communications, whether it be eye-glasses, 
 VCR's, or personal computers, must be under the control of the citizen 
 and not a third party.   -- http://www.flora.ca/russell/