John C Klensin <john-ietf(_at_)jck(_dot_)com> wrote:
But we're talking here about IETF standards, specifications
that are prepared cooperatively and for free by talented
individuals, companies and countries around the world. These
specifications are intended for implementation everywhere to
facilitate communications among us all.
...
Larry, with all due respect, if you substitute "ISO/IEC JTC1" or
"IEEE" (at least in the computer and communications areas for
both) in the above statements, they will still be true. The
IETF is not particularly special in this regard.
I agree. There are very good reasons to insist in all fora where
standards for protocols and data formats are developed that such
standards must not be patent-encumbered.
To me, the question is simply one of whether trying to insist on
an unencumbered regime (whether for technical, economic, or
moral/ religious reasons) is important enough to justify
rejecting, a priori, any encumbered technology. The IETF has
decided, repeatedly, that the answer is "no" and "we want to
look at these things on a case-by-case basis and evaluate the
tradeoffs". While the part that follows the "no" differs, that
is the same conclusion reached by ISO, IEC, IEEE, and others.
However the economic importance of insisting that standards must
not be patent-encumbered is increasing. Therefore the decisions
of the past can not validly be accepted as strong arguments against
Larry's current initiative.
If you want to pursue this further, I think it would be helpful
if you started supplying arguments that we haven't heard,
repeatedly, before.
Do you have a list of the arguments that you have heard so often
already that you're not interested in hearing them again?
Greetings,
Norbert.
--
Norbert Bollow <nb(_at_)bollow(_dot_)ch> http://Norbert.ch
President of the Swiss Internet User Group SIUG http://SIUG.ch
Working on establishing a non-corrupt and
truly /open/ international standards organization http://OpenISO.org
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