Sam Ruby asked:
> Do we have a formal definition that we can employ for the term "open
> standards"?
Here's my try at a definition of "open standards" in the form of five Open
Standards Principles. These were first proposed at the conference of the
Open Standards Alliance in Phoenix last year. John Terpstra is organizing
that OSA activity. I welcome your feedback on these principles.
Open Standards Principles
1. Everyone is free to copy and distribute the official
specification for an open standard under an open source
license.
2. Everyone is free to make or use embodiments of an open
standard under unconditional licenses to patent claims
necessary to practice that standard.
3. Everyone is free to distribute externally, sell, offer
for sale, have made or import embodiments of an open
standard under patent licenses that may be conditioned
only on reciprocal licenses to any of licensees’ patent
claims necessary to practice that standard.
4. A patent license for an open standard may be terminated
as to any licensee who sues the licensor or any other
licensee for infringement of patent claims necessary to
practice that standard.
5. All patent licenses necessary to practice an open standard
are worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual and
sublicenseable.
Lawrence Rosen
Rosenlaw & Einschlag, technology law offices (www.rosenlaw.com)
3001 King Ranch Road, Ukiah, CA 95482
707-485-1242 ● fax: 707-485-1243
Author of “Open Source Licensing: Software Freedom
and Intellectual Property Law” (Prentice Hall 2004)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sam Ruby [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2005 5:45 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: patent licenses on OASIS standards
>
> Lawrence Rosen wrote:
> >
> > Industry players, in particular Microsoft, hate our appropriation of the
> > term "open standards" to mean our version of patent and copyright
> licensing.
>
> Do we have a formal definition that we can employ for the term "open
> standards"?
>
> A quick google search turned up the following:
>
> http://perens.com/OpenStandards/Definition.html
>
> - Sam Ruby
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