[Foundation-l] Wikistandards

[Ray Saintonge]

Daniel Mayer wrote:

>inclusive in terms of what standards are allowed) scope along with its inherent
>importance will make for a viable project. Neat name too, btw. :) 
>
>However, I still don't know if this is a good fit for the foundation (just
>because it is a good idea, does not necessarily mean we should host it), so
>some reasoning in that regard is needed.
>
>I'm also *very* worried by copyright and especially business practice patents
>that may be easily infringed in such a project. So I'd like to hear from a
>patent lawyer about that or at least somebody who knows a lot about this type
>of thing and how patents and copyright apply to standards. 
>
Although I would be sceptical about this becoming a separate project, I 
don't see the problem as being with copyrights.  If they really are 
international standards they are part of the law in the adhering 
countries, and thus in the public domain.  Patented processes that are 
only available to a limited number of users seems inconsistent with the 
idea of international standards.

Ec