W3C adopts policy on patents
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has approved a policy on patents that requires all those who participate in the development of a W3C recommendation must license essential claims on a royalty-free basis. It also requires W3C members to make disclosures on patents they own and requests that anyone else who sees technical drafts share their knowledge of patents which may be essential. At the same time, the policy suggests a process for handling unexpected patent claims that are inconsistent with the terms of the W3C Patent Policy. In that instance, the W3C will convene a Patent Advisory Group, which may then recommend: a legal analysis of the patent, the removal of the patented feature, or cessation of work in that area altogether. The W3C’s efforts to create a patent policy have been contentious since it first released its Patent Policy Framework Draft in 2001, says Daniel Weitzner, chair of the Patent Policy Working Group, who cautioned technology companies against trying to exploit the patent exception process. “Anyone who thinks that’s going to be an easy way to squeeze fees out of Web standards I think is mistaken,” says Weitzner.
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