|
Recognizing "Civil ICT Rights" And Civil ICT StandardsThe history of humanity demonstrates an ongoing evolution in the balancing of the rights of the individual with those of society. Only in modern times have many of the civil rights we hold to be most dear become recognized and protected by law. With many of these rights now being exercised virtually through the use of information and communications technology (ICT) rather than in person, care must be exercised to ensure that these rights are not diminished or endangered. In order to protect such "Civil ICT Rights," we will need to take special care in developing "Civil ICT Standards."…Read More. |
|
|
|
Steve Jobs' Endangered Second Act
It is a truism of American life that you only get one chance to Have it All. Steve Jobs' first chance at dominating a computer platform died at the hands of Bill Gates in the early 1980s, in large part because Gates was willing to license his technology to clone makers while Jobs was not. Now comes Apple's wildly popular iPhone: will Steve Jobs enjoy a second act with this new platform even more successful than the first — or only a replay, and for the same reasons?…Read More |
|
|
The Essential Guide to Standard Setting Organizations and Standards |
Standard Setting Organization Participation Topics |
|
| Why have so many consortia been created? Look here for an explanation of what consortia are, why they are formed, and what they do. You will also find a description of why this site has been created, and what it hopes to accomplish......Read More |
|
|
| There are hundreds of consortia to choose from, many of which develop and promote competing solutions for the same problem. Determining which consortia are central to your mission, and which ones are likely to succeed (and fail) is essential to achieving your strategic goals. Here we present a guide to understanding and evaluating whether a given consortium is the right one for you......Read More |
|
|
| Consortium participation can be expensive in terms of cash and human resources. Some companies are passive, irregular participants in consortia, while others are power users that influence directions and reap maximum rewards. Here you will find a guide to gaining the greatest benefit from membership in consortia.....Read More |
|
|
| IPR policies vary widely, and are evolving rapidly. Today, they are the subject of urgent debate within consortia, close supervision by government regulators and even legal disputes. This area of the site provides a tutorial on creating an effective IPR policy that will help a consortium achieve its goals, and explains the reasons for (and against) various common policy terms...... Read More |
|
SSO Formation and Management Topics |
|
| There is as much art as science to forming a successful consortium. In this section, you will find an introduction to the business issues that the founders of a new organization should consider, including: defining the optimal scope for the new organization; determining the deliverables that it should create in order to achieve its mission; identifying and segmenting target membership groups whose participation will be needed to not only develop, but result in the adoption, of standards; creating attractive member value propositions for each of these target groups to ensure their participation; developing an adequate budget and determining appropriate dues structures to support that budge; designing a staffing model to serve the needs of the organization; and adopting key policies to support and add credibility to the organization's technical process.......Read More |
|
|
| Forming a successful consortium also requires paying attention to a broad range of legal considerations, including: issues presented by specific types of activities; common legal structures and the relative virtues and shortcomings of each; optimal jurisdictions for formation; antitrust laws and their implications for operations; tax exemption criteria; the advantages and disadvantages of seeking exemption as a public charity as compared to a trade association; how to evaluate the advisability of seeking that exemption; intellectual property rights policies and procedures; and issues associated with certification and branding. ......Read More |
|
| |
| In order for standards to have value, they must have credibility. Consortia use a variety of techniques to allow vendors to set accurate expectations in the marketplace, and to associate strong value with compliant products. In this section, we provide an in-depth guide to test suites, the certification process and brand building.....Read More |
|
|
| At the core of every standard setting organization (SSO) is a technical process, and the success of an SSO is in no small part a result of how effective, efficient, and appropriate a technical process it designs, implements and maintains. This article provides an overview of the technical process, and how to design a process that is best suited to the goals and realities of an SSO. It discusses different types of process and the base requirements of all technical programs; extrinsic factors that impact the type of process that is most appropriate for a given organization (e.g., the need to seek formal accreditation for its standards, relevance of government procurement, applicability of international treaties, and antitrust considerations); intrinsic factors (e.g., how broad or narrow is the mission of the SSO, how great are its resources, how many standards it will need to develop, how quickly it needs to operate, and what types of intellectual property rights may be impacted); structural and practical elements of a successful process; process steps and public access expectations and requirements; documentation and legal arrangements; and the process related to ongoing maintenance of adopted standards....…..Read More |
|
Law and Policy Topics |
|
| Governments worldwide are taking an increasingly active interest in standard setting and adoption. In the United States, support of standards and their use by the government itself is on the ascendant. This section compiles provides an introduction tot he role of government in standard setting, and provides to relevant laws and other resources.....Read More |
|
|
| Standard setting is both encouraged and regulated under prevailing antitrust and other laws. From time to time, disputes and government enforcement actions do arise. Here you will find summaries of the laws, regulations and cases applicable to standard setting, with links to all of the primary sources.....Read More |
|
Other Important Resources |
|
| Look here for an annotated full-text library of articles on the formation, regulation, analysis and operation of consortia and standard setting. You will also find links to other sites with useful information on consortia and standards......Read More |
|
| |
| Look here for descriptions and links for hundreds of the consortia that are most active today in every technical area. Where available, links are also provided to the standards maintained and IPR policies adopted by each consortium. The list is sortable by technical area, geography, type of organization, etc.....Read More |
|
|
| Look here for contact information of the service providers, consultants and others who support the activities of consortia and standards setting bodies. The list is sortable by category and provides brief descriptions of services offered...... Read More |
|
|
| Who hosts this site? A law firm that has helped form over 60 consortia, and enjoys an international reputation for structuring, advising and representing consortia, and for leadership in creating intellectual property policies. Learn more about firm at this section of the site......Read More |
|
News and Views |
| |
| ConsortiumInfo.org distributes its free monthly electronic newsletter, the Consortium Standards Bulletin , to a wide audience. The CSB contains editorials on current topics and gathers the most important news from the standards and consortium community. Visit here to read the most current issue, access prior issues, and to subscribe to future editions......Read More |
|
|
| A regularly updated source of the most important news relating to standards, standard setting, consortia and SDOs. Visit daily to stay current on new standards, new consortia, what's up, and what's down......Read More |
|
| An informative (and eclectic) commentary on the role of standards in society, and their impact on modern day life......Read More |
|
General Site Sections |
| |
| Why this site exists, and how you can help it become the most useful source on the Internet for the standard setting community......Read More |
|
|
| How to link to this site, submit a press release, article or linking suggestion......Read More |
|
| |
| Visit here to find press releases, contact information and background information about this site.....Read More |
|
|