The Rise of Open Source in Interoperability Standards: A Challenge for the EU Standardization Legal Framework

Open source software development has become a core instrument in the information and telecommunication (ICT) industries and is playing a central role in the definition of interoperability standards. In this context, new institutions focusing on the development of open source reference implementations compete with more formal standard developing organizations (SDOs). The integration of open source within the more traditional standardization framework presents economic and legal challenges. This research assesses the adaptability of the current European legal standardization framework to the phenomenon of open source and proposes legal mechanisms to steer the transition towards a new standardization approach.