Standards

The debate over standards and standardisation is becoming an important part of the European political landscape. Standards may, at face value, seem like a straightforward, even boring, technical issue and one which is only of interest to citizens or consumers inasmuch as they can easily use their mobile phone, computer software or music player.

Yet the importance of standards goes much deeper and now extends to such broad issues as the ethics of how products are made in developing countries, whether standards can help to meet social and environmental goals like dealing with climate change and of course, on whether or not Europe is producing more innovation.

So what is a standard? Standards offer a shared language that technologies use to communicate with one another, allowing for greater interaction between products or components. This can mean improved interoperability, interconnectivity, and commoditisation – all buzzwords for a more beneficial market. Standards across different country borders can also break down barriers to trade and create a large common market for businesses and consumers to participate in, whilst also reducing the regulatory burden on companies.

For those interested in standards or who would like to find out more, this page assembles materials from a recent event organised jointly by the Stockholm Network and Maastricht University, as well as a short policy briefing note on standards which outlines some of the issues at the heart of the current debate.

Stockholm Network event:
Intellectual Property, Open Source, and Standards: Friends or Foes?
Brussels (Maastricht University Campus Brussels), Tuesday 1st June 2010.

Click here to view all the speeches from the event.

Speakers:

• Helen Disney, Chief Executive, Stockholm Network;
• Malcolm Harbour MEP, Chairman of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, European Parliament;
• Prof Anselm Kamperman Sanders, Director Masters Intellectual Property Law and Knowledge Management, Maastricht University Faculty of Law;
• Dr Meir Perez Pugatch, Director of Research, Stockholm Network and Senior Lecturer, University of Haifa (To download Dr Pugatch's PowerPoint presentation, Click Here);
• Dr Dalindyebo Shabalala, Assistant Professor, Maastricht University Faculty of Law;
• Prof Alain Strowel, Universitaires Saint-Louis et Université de Liège;
• Prof Damien Geradin, Partner at Howrey LLP and Professor of Competition Law and Economics at Tilburg University (To download Prof Geradin's PowerPoint presentation, Click Here).

Stockholm Network publication:
Polybrief - Standards, Competition and Innovation

This Stockholm Network Polybrief explores the debate into standards, competition and innovation. Stockholm Network Polybriefs provide concise summary of pressing issues and debate throughout Europe.

In addition to providing a background to the relationship between intellectual property rights and open standards, the Polybrief also explores the debate between open and proprietary-based standards, as well as identifying and outlining new governmental approaches to standards.

To download this polybrief, please visit:
http://tinyurl.com/StandardsPolybrief