[DMCA-Activists] A Call to Action in OASIS

[Seth Johnson]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: A Call to Action in OASIS
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 09:38:21 -0800
From: "Lawrence Rosen" <address@hidden>
Reply-To: <address@hidden>
Organization: Rosenlaw & Einschlag
To: <address@hidden>

A Call to Action in OASIS

The free and open source software community has long demanded
that industry standards be freely available to all to implement
without patent or other licensing encumbrances. Open standards
are essential for free software and open source to thrive.

Now OASIS, a major industry consortium that produces e-business
and Web services standards, has adopted a patent policy that
threatens to undermine our development and licensing model. This
patent policy (available, grouped together with other unrelated
legal issues, in
http://www.oasis-open.org/who/intellectualproperty.php) permits
standards to be based upon so-called "reasonable and
non-discriminatory" patent license terms--terms which invariably
and unreasonably discriminate against open source and free
software to the point of prohibiting them entirely. It would lead
to the adoption of standards that cannot be implemented in open
source and free software, that cannot be distributed under our
licenses. While the policy includes a provision for royalty-free
standards, it is a secondary option, which will have little
effect if a few OASIS members with patents can ensure it is not
used. The OASIS patent policy will encourage large patent holders
to negotiate private arrangements among themselves, locking out
all free software and open source developers.

This is not a new issue for us. We fought hard for a royalty-free
patent policy in W3C and encouraged that standards organization
to commit its members to open standards. But some W3C member
companies, steadfast opponents of software freedom, moved their
efforts to OASIS. Without consulting the free software/open
source community, they produced a patent policy designed so that
we cannot live with it.

We ask you to stand with us in opposition to the OASIS patent
policy. Do not implement OASIS standards that aren't open. Demand
that OASIS revise its policies. If you are an OASIS member, do
not participate in any working group that allows encumbered
standards that cannot be implemented in open source and free
software.

Please send email to address@hidden to indicate your support.
We will forward your comments to the proper authorities at OASIS.

If we stand united in opposition to this unacceptable patent
policy, we can persuade OASIS to change it. 

/signed/
Lawrence Rosen
Bruce Perens
Richard Stallman
Lawrence Lessig
Eben Moglen
Marten Mickos
John Weathersby
John Terpstra
Tim O'Reilly
Tony Stanco
Don Marti
Michael Tiemann
Andrew Aitken
Karen Copenhaver
Doug Levin
Dan Ravicher
Larry Augustin
Mitchell Kapor
Russell Nelson
Guido van Rossum
Daniel Quinlan
Murugan Pal
Stuart Cohen
Danese Cooper
Eric Raymond
Mark Webbink
Ken Coar
Doc Searls
Brian Behlendorf