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Principles of Open Standards

Ken KrechmerFellow, 2003

International Center for Standards ResearchUniversity of Colorado at Boulder

krechmer@csrstds.com

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“Who ever knew Truth put to

the worse, in a free and open encounter?”

John Milton, Areopagiticia, A speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing in the Parliament

of England, 1644

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Creating Freedom

Democracy - open government

Freedom of speech - open media

Open technology - open standards

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Definition of a Technical Standard

“A Technical Standard defines for a society the limits on the constraints

used for one or more technical comparisons between

implementations.”

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Ten Principles of Open Standards

1. Open to stakeholders2. Consensus3. Due Process4. Open IPR5. Open World6. Open Access7. Open Meeting8. On-going Support9. Open Interfaces10. Open Use

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1. Openness – all stake holders mayparticipate in the standards developmentprocess.

Original ANSI requirement

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2. Consensus – all interests are discussed and agreement found, no domination.

Original ANSI requirement

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3. Due Process – balloting and an appeals process may be used to find resolution.

Original ANSI requirement

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4. Open IPR – holders of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) must identify themselves during the standards development process.

New ANSI requirement

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5. Open World – same standard for the same function, world-wide.

ANSI supported

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6. Open Access – all may access committee documents, drafts and completed standards

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7. Open Meeting – all may participate in standards development meetings

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8. On-going Support – standards are supported until user interest ceases rather than when provider interest declines.

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9. Open Interfaces – interfaces allow additional functions, public or proprietary.

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10. Open Use – low or no charge for IPR necessary to implement an accredited standard.

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Summation

Open Standards Concept Impact Risk/Reward

Open Access – to committee Little revenue loss, possible low/medium work-in-progress documents stakeholder increase

On-going Support – of Increased user participation low/medium accredited standards

Open Access – to completed Loss of standard document medium/medium committee documents sales revenue

Open Meetings – all may attend Loss of membership dues medium/medium

Open Interfaces New technical requirements medium/high

Open Use Loss of economic motivation high/low