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.
Discover more from Dan Gillmor
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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