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| Tech Update |
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IBM, Microsoft patents pose dangers
Unstoppable duo
By David Berlind
April 12, 2002
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To accomplish that, IBM and Microsoft would need to shove aside the W3C and turn their intellectual property into de facto standards. The imprimatur of something that portends to be a standards body--like the governing body of the WS-I or UDDI (also formed by IBM and Microsoft)--could help that along. By themselves, neither company is powerful enough to execute such a power play. But taken together, not much can stop them.
According to IBM's Sutor and Microsoft's .Net Platforms Strategy group director Neil Charney, both of whom led the WS-I's formation, the WS-I is strictly to guarantee the interoperability of Web services, not creating standards. "That work," according to Charney, "needs to take place in the working groups of the standards-setting bodies of the W3C." The co-chairperson of WS-I's board of directors, Norbert Mikula, agreed, saying "the intent of the WS-I is not to produce specifications. The intent is to promote clear definitions for how standard specifications should be applied so as to eliminate any potential problems with interoperability across platforms, languages, and applications." Mikula added "those definitions would be freely available."
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To RAND or not to RAND
But according to a copy of the WS-I's IP release obtained by ZDNet, the WS-I will indeed be producing specifications, contrary to what Mikula says. The organization will allow the members who contributed to those specs to charge royalties through a RAND-based licensing framework. The document clearly defines a specification as "a technical description of the protocols for the exchange of messages" or "the technical description of the steps required to implement existing standards alone or in combination with Specifications or existing standards in such a way as to promote interoperability."
After reviewing the IP release agreement with ZDNet, Mikula offered clarification of his earlier point, saying that "I believe that is correct, that the IPR that will be licensed on a RAND basis." Mikula added, "this does not mean that the specifications are in a locker. They are freely available to look at. But if you decide to adopt them, the IP will be licensed on a RAND basis."
Documentation of UDDI.org's specifications similarly includes RAND-based language that makes it possible for owners of intellectual property to charge royalties to those who implement or use UDDI: "If the Licensors own any patents or patent applications which may be required for implementing and using the specifications contained in the document in products that comply with the specifications, upon written request, a non-exclusive license under such patents shall be granted on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms."
While Web services is still in its infancy, IBM and Microsoft are looking to the future. Competitors, collaborators, and customers of the two giants will be looking to see if their future includes paying a toll or getting a free pass to use the protocols underlying the next-generation Internet.
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