Page 63 - Proceedings of the 2017 ITU Kaleidoscope

GOVERNANCE WITHIN STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS: WHO OWNS
THE GAME?

Olia Kanevskaia

Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC), Tilburg Law School

ABSTRACT hierarchical authority or any official form of governmental
endorsement, technological standards may exert significant
The past decade has witnessed the raise in prominence of normative pull and in a way, constrain our behavior. Hence,
interoperability and Internet standards in the wake of by influencing technical infrastructure of the market,
increased digitalization and technological advancement. standardization affects not only devise manufacturers,
Typically established by industry-driven association of network providers and software developers, but also global
professionals, often referred to as Standards Development society, and is of technical, strategic and regulatory
Organizations (SDOs), standards and technical importance [4].
specifications are expected to address the needs of the The continuous pace of technological development, together
industry and to benefit society. While SDOs arguably attempt with the emergence of the Internet of Things, raises a number
to involve all directly and indirectly affected stakeholders in of fundamental legal issues, related to the intellectual
their standards development, the establishment of property embedded in technological standards, processing
organizational rules and procedures, including Patent and sharing of personal data, and the rights of stakeholders
Policies, is often left to the discretion of the SDOs’ governing in standards development, the latter often being an
bodies and may not necessarily represent consensus of all underrated and uncharted area in standardization research.
interested parties. Placing procedural guarantees in the As a consensus-based process, standardization should
limelight of standardization research, this paper seeks to preferably aim to provide a solution that would satisfy all
compare the actors and procedures of different SDOs as affected parties. Such “compromise deal” can only be
regards their standards development, governance processes clinched after concerns of all stakeholders have been voiced,
and dispute resolution. It observers that procedural rules for and derives its legitimacy and validity from effective
standard-setting are not per se applicable to the decision- participation mechanisms [5].
making in the governing bodies of the SDOs, and aims to A major share of standards is developed within the
1
suggest the possible consequences of this disconnection. specialized voluntary platforms, commonly referred to as
Keywords — Standard-Setting Organizations; Standards Development Organizations (SDOs). Largely
Governance in Standardization; Procedural Guarantees composed of industry representatives and technical experts,
while the involvement of governmental authorities or
1. INTRODUCTION consumer associations is not uncommon, SDOs create a
neutral forum for coordination and communication between
Standardization plays a crucial role in the era of emerging standardizers. Although their orchestration often follows
technologies and increased digital convergence. Being certain patterns [1] [6], SDOs may vary in their institutional
technical specifications that codify technologies or prescribe design from formal associations with a vast repertoire of
2
methods applied in electronic devises, technical rules to loosely organized fast-paced industry consortia and
interoperability standards enable the necessary interference, specialized interests’ groups [7]. As a general rule, SDOs are
coordinate transmission frequencies and encryption software expected to serve common interests and to act on behalf of
[1] and provide compatibility between complex electronic their membership: their standard-setting is a multi-
mechanisms [2] [3], creating invisible interconnections stakeholder process, resulting in drafting of specifications
between products of different vendors, networks and document that is subsequently introduced to the industry.
interfaces. However, standardization goes far beyond the When formulating a standard, stakeholders follow the rules
ambit of electrotechnics and engineering. Technological and procedures prescribed by the SDO in which they chose
compatibility has a profound impact on the functioning of to collaborate. These rules determine, inter alia, membership
modern society [4]: anyone who uses electronic devices requirements of an SDO; rights of parties within standards
understands the importance of their interconnection. At the development processes; voting quorum for decision-making
same time, the exchange, retrieval and storage of information within the Working Groups; steps that should be taken prior
is greatly facilitated by Internet standards and protocols and the final adoption and publication of a standard document;
causes major human rights concerns. Although lacking

1 The author received financial support from Qualcomm Inc., but 2 The terms “standard” and “technical specification” are used
all ideas are author’s own. All links were updated on 5 October interchangeable in this paper.
2017.

978-92-61-24291-6/CFP1768P-ART © 2017 ITU – 47 – Kaleidoscope