Testimony

On 18 April 2002, in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice in Washington D.C., there were two hearings that will have an impact on the future direction of standards and standardization in the United States and the world.

These hearings - part of series by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission - had as a general topic "Standard-Setting Practices: Competition, Innovation, and Consumer Welfare". The specific topics were "Intellectual Property Strategies in Standards Activities" (the morning session), followed by an afternoon session on "Licensing Terms in Standards Activities". Both of these panels should be of high interest to the standards practitioner and the standards theorist; many of the papers submitted are essential reading to those involved in standardization. From the morning session, I would especially recommend papers by Mark Lemley (Professor of Law, Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley), Donald R. Deutsch, (Vice President, Standards Strategy and Architecture, Oracle Corporation), Carl Cargill (Director of Corporate Standards, Sun Microsystems), and Ernest Gellhorn (Professor, George Mason University School of Law). From the afternoon session, papers by Scott K. Peterson, (Corporate Counsel, Hewlett-Packard Company), Andrew Updegrove (Partner, Lucash, Gesmer & Updegrove LLP), and Daniel Weitzner (Director of Technology and Society Activities, World Wide Web Consortium) are also excellent.

All of the other papers are available at http://www.ftc.gov/opp/intellect/detailsandparticipants.htm#April18

The hearings have already begun to impact standardization; Mark Lemley's analysis of standardization practices across a wide range of Standards Setting Organizations (SSOs) is a significant contribution, allowing SSOs to look at their policies in light of other extant policies. Danny Weitzner's paper traces the efforts of W3C as it established its patent policy, and Andrew Updegrove has given a new legal term and concept (the Joint Commercial Venture) to the legal department of organizations who are considering establishing their own SSO. Scott Peterson and Don Deutsch both provide an analysis of standards setting from a contributing organizational point of view, and both are necessary reading for anyone who wishes to engage in standardization from a corporation.

I am not sure of the follow-up to these hearings, but they have already made a significant contribution to standardization. The gathering of experts - with the wide range of opinions and positions - has aided in creating another community of experts on whom the discipline of standardization can again begin to build and grow.

Presentation [pdf 30K]

Link to other papers on topic: http://www.ftc.gov/opp/intellect/detailsandparticipants.htm#April18