Neelie Kroes: Passion and Pence for Openness - Open Enterprise
abernard102@gmail.com 2012-09-27
Summary:
Second, I fail to see the interest of customers in including proprietary technology in standards when there are no clear and demonstrable benefits over non-proprietary alternatives.
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Third, standardisation agreements should be based on the merits of the technologies involved. Allowing companies to sit around a table and agree technical developments for their industry is not something that the competition rules would usually allow. So when it is allowed we have to look carefully at how it is done...
If voting in the standard-setting context is influenced less by the technical merits of the technology but rather by side agreements, inducements, package deals, reciprocal agreements, or commercial pressure ... then these risk falling foul of the competition rules.' Then, last year, she offered her equally sane views on copyright ... Yesterday, Kroes was speaking at the Open Forum Europe's Summit, which I attended... It was good to see that she's still beating the drum for openness... Even more welcome is the fact that she intends to promote open innovation through funding: 'I want to try out support for truly open, disruptive innovation in ICT. Allocating perhaps 5% of funds to create an open, agile, responsive funding instrument. Starting an experiment to support creativity and innovation.' She concluded: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I know from previous visits here at Open Forum Europe that you share my passion for openness online.I hope you can also see my passion for open, transformed ICT research and innovation.' Now, fine words butter no parsnips, but there could be real money involved here, which would make things rather different. Let's hope Kroes follows through and does get 5% allocated to supporting open, disruptive innovation in ICT - and that she continues to push harder for openness and a more sensible approach to intellectual monopolies."