Explains the risks of exchanging data in non-public format and suggests the main alternatives.

Short document with instructions to MS-Word users on alternatives they can use for document exchange.

Without standards, every job is a one-off, and vendor lock-in is assured after the first project. Open standards are the beating heart of e-Business, without which concepts like intranets and business-to-business commerce would not be practical on a mass scale.

Campaign for replacing the patent-encumbered GIF format by open standard graphics.

Paper investigating economical issues related to the diffusion of public standards.

Article on formats interoperability in audio and video content.

Investigates the effects of patent proliferation and criticizes reasonable and non-discriminatory license terms (RAND) for patented technologies.

Argues in favor of using HTML instead of proprietary word formats.

Argues in favor of patent-free standards and suggests recommended formats for different kinds of content.

Explains the appropriate use of document formats and argues against the use of Word attachments.

Why not use proprietary formats and what are the main open alternatives.

Initiative aiming to convince software companies to release data format documentation and to pass laws that governments can only store user data in open format. Presents its manifesto, forum, news, links to institutional resolutions.

Definition proposed and discussed on the Texas Open Source Initiative Mailing List, as part of an initiative to promote the use of such standards in government projects.

Draws a distinction between open source advocacies and the promotion of public standards, warning against the confusion of these two initiatives.

What is a standard, what is an open standard, and why use open standards on the Internet.

Archive of standards relevant to the Open Source community, including licenses, public standards, protocols, RFCs.

Internet technologies and the economical challenge of open protocols.

Illustrates the principles behind format standardization and the practice of promoting formats interoperability.

Collaborative documentation projects on why use public standards and open formats and why avoid proprietary formats in data exchange.

A not-for-profit organization connecting people to open standards and the bodies that build and foster their growth.

A discussion of the problems of MSWord as a document exchange format and what alternatives are available. Suitable for a non-technical audience.

Intercommunication and file formats should follow standards that are sincerely open for all to implement, without royalty fees or discrimination.

How open standards may help mitigate or prevent "customer lock-in" strategies.

Benefits of the development of open specifications for audio and video formats. By Rich Mavrogeanes.

A non-profit corporation to increase the use and acceptance of open source technologies through the application, development and promotion of standards.

Ken Krechmer analyzes the distinct issues behind advocacy for non-proprietary formats.

Governs the handling of patents in the process of producing Web standards. The goal of this policy is to assure that Recommendations produced under this policy can be implemented on a Royalty-Free (RF) basis.

Richard Stallman's arguments against the use of proprietary formats in document exchange.

Forum on Richard Stallman's document against file exchange in proprietary format.

Why not using Word, Excel or any other proprietary format to communicate.

Advocates against the use of image formats that are protected by patents. Presents a brief history of the GIF format as well as its open alternatives.