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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 1/14/2016 10:54 AM, doug sanden
wrote:<br>
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<pre wrap=""> Joe, If x3dom node definitions are not proprietary -if they are
web3d.org- then why doesn't Leonard just snapshot x3dom node
definitions and call it version 4?
Doug,
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X3DOM is separately licensed under MIT and GNU - making it open source.
The nodes, fields, and design of the internals is open, but not standard.
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Q. what's the difference between open and standard?
-Doug
more..
Hypothesis: similar to previous web3d.org standards, it allows developers to develop competing products.
That means the execution model has been abstracted from code into a design. Much like if you were reverse engineering a product into a design in one room, then giving the design to developers in a second room, to clean out any copyright.
more..
And perhaps that's what's uncertain - does the world need the abstracted design if it has MIT opensource?</pre>
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The MIT license applies to software. The USPTO has rules that APIs
cannot be copyrighted nor patented; however, there are some
conflicting court rulings. <br>
<br>
The standards document has a copyright that is owned by Web3D and
ISO (in some sort of undetermined relationship). The current
documents have a license that is "All Rights Reserved". That does
not restrict someone from creating code using that document that
implements what is in the document. It does restrict someone from
copying the descriptions in the document into their code with
permission.<br>
<br>
An MIT license is permissive -- meaning you can do just about
anything with the code, including incorporating it into proprietary
systems.<br>
<br>
By having the abstract structure of the scene as a standard you can
derive multiple formats from it. By having encodings (formats) as
standards, everyone knows how to express their idea. Including the
run-time in the abstract tells people how these systems should
behave and how they respond to various changes in the environment.<br>
<br>
Having a standard essentially undercuts organizations forcing buy-in
to a particular format. In general, users do not want that because
it becomes harder to change. Creators do not want that because it
limits their distribution. The only people who like it are those too
lazy to develop something significant and/or want to control all
aspects of your use of the content.<br>
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<br>
Leonard Daly<br>
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Where the abstract design might be handy is if any california investors want their startups to add /create intellectual property in the form of copyright, by re-implementing in their own code, from abstract design. Then hacking/adding their own proprietary differences. That way their own efforts aren't contaminated with MIT license code. That might give them a bit more of the proprietary protection against later competitors copying and pasting. While allowing end-users fairly familiar content format - likely an easy translation from standards-based exporters.
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<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<font class="tahoma,arial,helvetica san serif" color="#333366">
<font size="+1"><b>Leonard Daly</b></font><br>
3D Systems & Cloud Consultant<br>
X3D Co-Chair on Sabbatical<br>
LA ACM SIGGRAPH Chair<br>
President, Daly Realism - <i>Creating the Future</i>
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