The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has released a new draft patent
policy that reverses its original decision on royalty payments and
endorses free specifications.
The W3C said that the new draft places a "strong and explicit
commitment" to royalty-free standards. The group's first patent
policy draft was criticised heavily for endorsing companies' rights
to collect royalties for standards endorsed by the W3C.
The group said that it revised its patent policy draft after
receiving thousands of e-mail messages expressing concern about the
royalty fees. Advocates of open-source software were particularly
unsettled by the possibility of royalty rates being attached to
international Web standards.
Although the group has changed its stance on the matter, it still
has to work out how to deal with technology that is only available
for a fee.
The W3C said that it is now seeking further public comment on the
new draft. At least one more public draft will be released for
review this year, and then a final draft will be presented to the
W3C Advisory Committee Review.