Twenty years ago today, Tim Berners-Lee posted this announcement on Usenet (the main Internet forums of the day). The key line:
“The WorldWideWeb (WWW) project aims to allow links to be made to any information anywhere.”
Berners-Lee didn’t just give this to the world. He deliberately declined to patent this work, because he wanted wide adoption of his invention and believed in a culture of open, not closed.
We are all in his debt.
Actually, British Telecommunications (BT) claimed it owned a patent to hyperlinks, which it filed back in 1976 and was granted in 1989. They even demanded from several Internet service providers that they pay licensing fees on hyperlinks.
http://www.linksandlaw.com/linkingcases-other.htm#British Telecom v. Prodigy
Hear, hear. Tim Berners-Lee doesn’t get enough credit for his brilliant creation. I add my thanks here.
Berners-Lee should be applauded! And, by the way, many happy returns of the day tomorrow with love to you and Noriko. – Lise