OPEN STANDARDS

We don't want to mandate open source software. That would be counter productive. All we want is a level playing field for software, based on mandated compliance with open standards, as you would expect in just about every other marketplace. Open source software will succeed on its own merits, just as it has on the web - which is perhaps the aspect of the digital world most dominated by open standards - the mobile world, the cloud, the supercomputer, and in the emerging Internet of Things... Open standards offer us something called "permissionless innovation". If you want to, you can manufacture a micro-USB powered device and sell it, without asking anyone's permission, as long as you comply with the standard. That's easy for independent organisations to measure. You can build your innovative new gadget around a micro-USB charging system without worrying that someone will sue you for patent infringement for doing so, or charge you royalties for using their standard, deny you the right..