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From: ClubTech Industry Observer Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2003 9:02 Subject: Club Tech Industry Observer -- September 23, 2003 The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is debating a proposal that calls for royalties on three commonly used standards: the ISO codes for countries, currencies, and languages. IT industry groups, such as the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) have voiced opposition to the proposal and expressed concern that, if the proposal is passed, it will erode the firmly established standards for these ISO codes. In an industry where >standards are difficult to establish and are frequently bent and broken, the ISO standards for country, currency, and language, as well as other ISO standards -- for example, date formats -- have gained widespread acceptance. But if royalties are required for every product that uses ISO standards, software vendors may abandon the standards. Such a move by the ISO could also have a negative effect on overall standards adherence because developers may feel more confident using their own codes rather than those established by a third-party organization. Just imagine the havoc that would result if the United States Postal Service charged royalties for the use of standardized state abbreviations or zip codes. An overview of the ISO proposal and some of the counter-arguments: > http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-5079256.html > > RELATED LINKS: > >The W3C has sent a letter to the ISO protesting the proposed >royalties for use of ISO codes: > >http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-international/2003JulSep/0213 [With thanks to: Robert A. Baron]
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