The economic nature of knowledge embodied in standards for technology-based industries

In today’s technology driven economy, multiple standards are required to specify attributes of products, processes, and services. ¹ In so doing, they affect both technological innovation and diffusion. Examples are

specifying the architecture of a microprocessor;

specifying performance (quality) levels for solid state lighting (LED) products;

defining the calibration process for photolithography equipment;

characterizing nanomaterials in research databases;

providing performance data for attributes of optical fiber to facilitate market transactions.