Open Standards and Intellectual Property Rights

Tim Simcoe, University of Toronto, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management

3/02/2008
(Original Publish Date: 9/16/2005)

Compatibility standards are used to govern the interaction of products and components in a technological system. In other words, they are the shared language that technologies use to communicate with one another. Standards are particularly important in the information and communications technology industries, where there are large numbers of interdependent suppliers and a very rapid pace of technological change. This chapter explores the inherent tension between cooperation and competition in the standards creation process, with a special emphasis on the role of intellectual property rights. These issues are closely linked to several key themes of Open Innovation, including the growing significance of IP-based business models, and the trend towards vertical dis-integration between technology development and commercialization.