“Reading” (1822) / Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, The Art Institute of Chicago, John H. Wrenn Memorial Fund.
Directing USER-INTEREST informed voices to public commenting opportunities is delicate work. We want to lower #TotalCostofOwnership of education facilities by participating in the global standards system but our effectiveness depends upon access to the ideas. In many cases, we have to pay for access to the ideas. The access generally covers the cost of administering the development of a consensus product; a cost that can be burdensome for smaller (financially) standards developers. We respect that need.
Larger standards developing organizations have the budget to release their draft standards for free (especially if they are classified as “codes”). Larger standards developers have the resources to modify their websites; action that requires us to modify our tracking algorithm with considerable frequency. We spend an unexpectedly large amount of time navigating standards developer public access websites which are continually changing as content management systems evolve. Especially in fast-moving spaces such as electrotechnology, energy and IoT, the intellectual property landscape is a minefield of sensitivities. (CLICK HERE for our coverage of the Sherman Act)
We do not want to put standards developers out of business because their IP is out there for free but enough of it has to be available for the USER-INTEREST to contribute meaningfully. That is why we host daily teleconferences — to highlight technical, management and policy specifics outlined in draft documents that cannot be widely shared.
Whenever we err in this we would appreciate an immediate response from a standards developer. After nearly 25 years in this business we have not yet been called out for a violation of IP but there is always a first time. Send an email to mike@standardsmichigan.com or call 888-748-3670.
Thank you!
