The real force behind the Web, many software developers argue, is that it's free. What makes the Web truly worldwide, after all, is its interoperability-you can call up virtually any Web page on virtually any device connected to the Internet-and that depends on free software. But now members of the World Wide Web Consortium, the MIT-based industry forum devoted to promoting interoperability, are locked in a debate with outside critics over whether the royalty-free tradition can continue in a world where many companies hold patents on-and would like to start profiting from-the software needed as the backbone for next-generation Web standards.

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