2008
10.09
10.09
There’s a lot of issues going on around OOXML these days. Specifically, there’s alledged copyright violations by posting the OOXML specs by members of the Boycott Novell group. I want to address a specific issue: why is something applying for ISO standardization so secret?
International standards (e.g., ISO) should be open and royalty-free. It’s ridiculous if there’s a “standard” that’s locked in to a single vendor. Can someone explain any sanity to this situation?
“why is something applying for ISO standardization so secret?”
I think there are 2 parts in the answer:
1. The main reason it is not yet public is that the text is still under review. ISO wants to avoid a draft to be circulated openly, because if last minute changes are made, it will cause confusion.
2. The business model of ISO and the National Bodies is that they sell (paper and electronic) copies of the standards to get the money they need to support their operations (hence the copyright). However, in the case of OOXML, as it is already the case for ODF, the intent is to make the document downloadable for free.
So, in the medium term, the document will be available for everybody, free of charge, on the ISO web site. The “secret” status is temporary only.