VoiceXML 2.0: standard vs. patent

Paul Festa reports on CNET that "a recommendation for VoiceXML 2.0, which the World Wide Web Consortium advanced (W3C) this month, could fall afoul of a Rutgers University patent that was disclosed to the group more than two years ago... In a worst-case scenario, a patent impasse with Rutgers over VoiceXML could lead to expensive and unexpected licensing fees for emerging technology that promises to provide a powerful alternative to traditional Web surfing. VoiceXML enables data stored on Web servers to be retrieved, using voice commands and touch tones. It also enables text-to-speech translation, giving Web surfers access to information such as stock quotes or e-mail over the phone. One W3C critic likened the potential fallout to the SCO Group's use of its Unix copyrights to seek licensing fees from Linux vendors..."