National Academies of Science Intellectual Property Management in Standard-Setting Processes: An International Comparison

Technical standards play a crucial role in the ability of governments to efficiently and cost-effectively operate e-Governance systems. These internal infrastructures enable governments to digitally exchange information among agencies and to perform critical social functions related to national security, public health and safety, and the direct delivery of public services to citizens. Standards are the blueprints providing common specifications and technical characteristics that enable interoperability among devices adhering to these standards. It would be difficult for society to function without standards, whether for the basic standardization of time and units of measurement and weight, or the homogenization of standardized parts in manufacturing and transportation. Governments rely on standards for areas as diverse as national defense and environmental protection. In the area of e-Governance, technical standards are a basic force of interoperability enabling the electronic exchange of information within and among government agencies, between governments and private industry, or between governments and constituents. There are many layers of interoperability – technical, legal, organizational, and semantic. Because of the linkages between interoperability standards and effective e-Governance, many nations have taken a heightened interest in the characteristics of th