Call for ''Standard'' Approach Intellectual Property Rights Takes Center Stage at The Open Group ''All-User'' Web Services Conference

Business Wire, July 23, 2002

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2002

Tim Berners-Lee Issues Challenge to Vendors to Create Royalty-Free

Standards Andrew Updegrove Looks to The Open Group to Play a Central

Role in an IPR "Constitutional Convention"

A packed ballroom of senior executives from both the vendor and user communities heard an imperative on intellectual property rights (IPR) at opening sessions of The Open Group's web services conference, which opened yesterday. The conference, "Boundaryless Information Flow: The Role of Web Services," runs through Friday in Boston.

Tim Berners-Lee concluded his keynote, "Web Services: Long Term or Short Term?" with a focus on the importance of web standards that can be implemented without fees related to patents, licenses, and other intellectual property.

"The Open Group stands by Tim Berners-Lee's message that web standards should not be encumbered by intellectual property rights," said Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group. "The approach to IPR that vendors and consortia take is probably going to make or break web services."

Steve Nunn, Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of The Open Group, strongly reinforced that view in introducing featured speaker Andrew Updegrove, Attorney, Lucash, Gesmer & Updegrove LLP. "If patent licenses and the need to pay royalties creep into standards development, they profoundly affect the cost of implementation and how widespread vital standards can become. All of us involved in the creation of web services standards have a duty at this stage to treat IPR as an enabler, not a barrier, to the widespread adoption of open, interoperable standards."

Updegrove, whose presentation on Intellectual Property Rights Policies was entitled "A Call to (Lay Down) Arms," has represented and helped structure more than 45 worldwide standard setting consortia, including some of the largest standard setting organizations in the world.

He characterized standards setting as a "non-commercial" activity, saying that, when vendors engage in standards development, they "step into a looking glass world."

"In this looking glass world," Updegrove asserted, "patents are impediments rather than tools, royalties are unwanted encumbrances, licenses exist for the sole purpose of disclaiming rights, and finally, competitors should be welcomed as partners. The biggest challenge that newcomers to the consortium world must face is grasping the fact that standards setting is about giving away rights in some technology in order to make money on other technology."

Updegrove issued challenges to conference delegates, highlights of which were:

-- A "return to the basics" that includes recognizing that standards open new markets and are meant to be owned in common and open to all if they are to be adopted widely

-- The need to arrive at a "standard" standards IPR policy.

-- Abiding by a judgment that the "standards ends justify the IPR means" when doing consortium work.

-- "If we can't police ourselves, then the government will do it for us."

"We need to hold an IPR 'constitutional convention,'" he urged, and noted that The Open Group is an appropriate place to launch it.

Undergrove maintains a web site devoted to IPR issues related to standards setting: www.consortiuminfo.org.

About The Open Group

The Open Group, a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, has a vision of Boundaryless Information Flow achieved through global interoperability in a secure, reliable and timely manner. The Open Group's mission is to drive the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow by working with customers to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies, and share best practices; working with suppliers, consortia and standards bodies to develop consensus and facilitate interoperability, to evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; offering a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and developing and operating the industry's premier certification service and encouraging procurement of certified products. More information on our organization can be found at www.opengroup.org.