Apple is having a scrap with the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)
over a
patent from 1995 for running automatic software updates over
the internet.
The patent impacts the W3C's widget updates specification, which
will enable
internet
widgets built using
Ajax to get updated automatically.
In a statement on its
website, Apple said,
"Apple believes that W3C should promulgate only royalty-free
standards, but should permit individual members to identify and
exclude specific patents that they are not willing to license on a
royalty-free basis. To accomplish this, a W3C member would be
required to disclose and license to any practitioner all essential
patents of a W3C standard."
In response, the W3C has launched an appeal to find information
about software update systems available before June 1995 that offer
a viable solution that may apply to the use of updates in widgets.
"Such information could suggest ways to define a specification that
can achieve the working group's goals without implementers
infringing on the disclosed patent," the W3C said.