W3C Patent Policy and the future of HTML

[Ken Irwin]

Hi folks,

Does anyone have a decent understanding of what the W3C is up to with regard 
to patents, and what it's going to mean for us?

A few weeks ago the w3c issued a draft document on the subject for comment
http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/WD-patent-policy-20010816/

and more recently posted some responses and remarks
http://www.w3.org/2001/10/patent-response

Having read most of the way through both of these documents I still have no 
clue what they're talking about. What I do know is that various folks are 
suggesting that we're going to have to pay royalties on the use of HTML, CSS & 
XML. Is this overreaction? Real life? I haven't the first clue what they're 
talking about and I have a feeling the W3C likes it that way.

The documents talk about both "royalty-free" (RF) and "reasonable and 
non-discriminatory" (RAND) licenses, I have no sense of the context.

Does anyone understand this?

Ken