Standards Today A Journal of News, Ideas and Analysis
July 2013Vol XII No 1 The Value of Open Standards ABOUT THIS ISSUE: Whose Standard is This? Should you care where your standards come from? Download PDF EDITORIAL: The Dollars and Sense of Open Standards Whether using standards that are "open" can save money is an important question, but not as important as knowing whether they will be effective in protecting fundamental rights. Download PDF FEATURE ARTICLE: Measuring the Benefits of Open Standards: A Contribution to Dutch Politics In 2011 the Dutch Court of Audit released a report on the benefits of using open standards and open source software for government IT, concluding that there were hardly any benefits to be gained. The Court's underlying research was widely criticized. In this article, the authors analyze the report's omissions and weaknesses, introduce an economic framework for evaluating standardization, apply that framework to the subject of switching costs, and conclude that the framework, in combination with elements from other existing methodologies, can provide a starting point for more systematically performing international policy research relating to the benefits of open standards. Download PDF CASE WATCH: Judge Robart's Opinion in Motorola vs. Microsoft and the Future of FRAND It took Judge Robart 207 pages to decide what a "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" price would be for the use of Motorola's "Standards Essential Patents." A standards setting organization could have done so in a few sentences. Download PDF STANDARDS BLOG: The Problem with Patents: Operating with Blunt Instruments The U.S. patent system has been taking heavy fire for years from critics who contend that it is "irretrievably broken." This year, those critics gained a new supporter: President Obama ñ at least when it comes to patents wielded by "non-practicing entities." Download PDF CONSIDER THIS: The Devil's in the Cloud: It's Time to Stop our Headlong Rush into Cyber Insecurity Ten years from now, most of the data, hardware and software in any nation will be housed in a few hundred enormous data farms, heavily defended against cyberattack ñ and completely vulnerable to kinetic weapons. Remember something called "war?" Download PDF IMPORTANT NOTICES TO REMOVE YOURSELF FROM OUR SUBSCRIPTION LIST: Please reply to this e-mail with the word REMOVE in the subject line. ADVERTISING/SOLICITATION: This email may constitute "advertising" or "solicitation" under applicable laws (including the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and rules regulating attorney conduct). This email does not constitute the rendering of legal advice by Gesmer Updegrove LLP or its attorneys. GENERAL INFORMATION: The Consortium Standards Bulletin is a source of news, ideas and analysis relevant to those that develop and use standards. For the latest standards news, updated on a daily basis, use the RSS feed at, or bookmark: http://www.consortiuminfo.org/news/ For more information about ConsortiumInfo.org, click http://www.consortiuminfo.org/presscenter/ ConsortiumInfo.org is sponsored by Gesmer Updegrove LLP. Please access the GU Web site at http://www.gesmer.com/industries.php?ServiceID=9 to learn about the firm's consortium and standards practice. TO RECEIVE FUTURE ISSUES OF THIS FREE JOURNAL: Please register at: http://www.consortiuminfo.org/subscribe/, or send an email to: [email protected] with the word REGISTER in the subject line. Gesmer Updegrove LLP 40 Broad Street Boston, MA 02109 ph: 617-350-6800 fax: 617-350-6878 http://www.gesmer.com Copyright 2013 Andrew Updegrove. All rights reserved.
