Apple is facing yet another patent dispute.
This one is rather surprising as the W3C is complaining about Apple's refusal to provide full and unrestricted rights to one Apple patent and one application that affect standard that is currently developed. In this case, the W3C is apparently trying to secure the rights for Widget Access Policy Specification that is created by the Web Application working group within the W3C.
To be able to get the rights to Apple's claimed inventions, the W3C has issued a public call for determination of prior art that detail access control systems that were available before October 2005 and distribution systems before April 2006 as they could relate to the W3C's standard intentions.
The W3C typically requests full access to a technology in a patent, if it is included in a W3C standard to avoid any patent infringement lawsuits, yet this is apparently Apple's intent why it is not willing to release the rights to the W3C. The organization said that Apple specifically excluded all claims in this patent from a license given to the W3C, which prompted the W3C's Patent Advisory Group to suggest the route of a call for prior art to challenge Apple's patent. Apple has not commented on the dispute.
What would they say? "We're arseholes that believe we invented everything and will fight anything that might decrease our ability to line Steves pockets."