World Wide Web

Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, Switzerland, no patent, 1989. Given away to the world.

Overview

Tim Berners-Lee proposed a hypertext information system at CERN in 1989 and by the end of 1990 had built the first web server, browser and pages, defining HTML, HTTP and URLs. He chose not to patent it, believing the web could only spread if anyone could build on it freely. In April 1993 CERN formally placed the web software in the public domain. That decision let the web overtake rival systems such as Gopher, whose owner had announced licensing fees, and the web became the main way people use the internet.