- Does "more standardization" mean "less simplification"?
- Are there any existing standards and standardization projects in my field?
- Is it ever too early to standardize an innovative technology?
- Are standards just technical specifications?
- Is it possible to standardize patented technologies?
- Who is involved in a standardization process?
- How fast can a standard be developed?
- Will standards stifle further innovation?
- What can standards do for Research, Development and Innovation?
- Who can I contact to discuss my project in more detail?
- Does “more standardization” mean “less simplification”?
Of course not! The “Integrated Approach”, described in this webpage, aims precisely at ensuring the right basis that, for RDI projects where standardization can have an added-value, the right stakeholders are involved at the right time.
- Are there any existing standards and standardization projects in my field?
If you want to know which are the existing or on-going standardization projects in your field, please use our search engine :
CEN standardization activities
CENELEC standardization activities
- Is it ever too early to standardize an innovative technology?
If innovative technologies are to generate return on investment, create jobs and have a broad impact on global society, it is vital that technologies can access global markets early. It is now widely agreed that a major tool to ensure this is standardization, addressed at the earliest possible stage.
This is why CEN and CENELEC promote an Integrated Approach between STAndardization, Innovation and Research, which can be achieved by the inclusion of standardization in work packages or as a separate support measure.
The standardization process itself can be further seen as innovation, where the process succeeds in building on the combined knowledge of all participants. But of course this is not possible if the process starts with a ‘close to final’ draft.
CEN and CENELEC have a range of solutions for delivering standards and related information in a timely manner. If you want to know these solutions, please visit this page
- Are standards just technical specifications?
Many standards indeed address technology; a standard can constitute a product specification, a test method, a measurement method, etc. These technical specifications will generally be interface standards, which detail how products interconnect with one another; safety standards, which establish characteristics required for a product or process to be safe or performance standards.
But standards are not just technical specifications: for instance, standards may provide commonly accepted definitions and vocabularies, describe processes, describe organizational good practices (management standards), contain quality levels that products or services have to meet, etc.
- Is it possible to standardize patented technologies?
Yes, upon condition that the patented technology is made available to those who wish to implement the standard on FRAND rules. Under the FRAND rules, any existing patents must be made known as early as possible in the drafting process of a standard. If a patent is declared as being “essential” for the implementation of the standard, the holder of the patent(s) must then provide CEN/CENELEC/ETSI (at European level) or ISO/IEC/ITU (at international level) a guarantee they agree to negotiate the licences with requestors from all over the world under conditions that are fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. The corresponding declaration by the rights holder is registered by ISO/IEC/ITU in databases. These rules enable technology transfer and can assist in the dissemination of patented technologies into the market.
The CEN/CENELEC Guidelines for Implementation of the Common IPR Policy (intended to clarify and facilitate implementation of the Patent Policy) are in CEN/CENELEC Guide 8 “Guidelines for implementation of the common IPR policy”. CEN and CENELEC should not be involved in evaluating patent relevance or essentiality with regard to deliverables, interfere with licensing negotiations, or engage in settling disputes on patents; this should be left – as in the past – to the parties concerned.
- Who is involved in a standardization process?
All standardization activities in CEN and CENELEC are undertaken by a collective of stakeholders, manufacturers, users, research organizations, government departments and consumers. In CEN and CENELEC Technical Committees, experts are mandated by national member bodies, with formal decisions being taken by national delegations. In CEN and CENELEC Workshops, a more informal approach is used, with any interested party being able to participate, sometimes after paying a fee. Representatives of the national Members act as secretaries to the various technical groups and manage the projects and the production of standards and other documents.
- How fast can a standard be developed?
CEN and CENELEC operate various standardization processes, which progress at different speeds (resulting from different levels of rigour and consensus).
In order to develop standards within acceptable timeframes according to market needs and, at the same time, to guarantee sufficient time for consultation and consensus building, European Standards (ENs) are developed in a maximum timeframe of 3 years. In the case of Technical Specifications (TSs) and Technical Reports (TRs), the average timeframe is 18 months-2 years.
The CEN-CENELEC Workshop Agreements can also be very relevant. The duration of a Workshop depends on the state of the art of the work. If a document already exists, the Workshop can achieve an outcome within 5-6 months. However, the average duration is 15-18 months. Faster and lighter procedures account for the speed of the process.
- Will standards stifle further innovation?
Properly written product standards do not stifle innovation, on the contrary they support innovation. By "properly written" we mean standards that are not unnecessarily descriptive in terms of design, or descriptive characteristics, but which express requirements in terms of performance. This performance approach leaves maximum freedom to technical development and gives enterprises flexibility and room for innovation.
Standards such as quality and safety standards, “good practice standards”, information standards or management standards should also be attractive to innovators, since these standards do not prescribe a single "how to do it".
- What can standards do for Research, Development and Innovation?
- Dissemination of research results
A normative document will become a reference and will ensure that research results are well-known, thus ensuring enhancement and recognition of the researcher’s results
- Networking
Participating in standardization on a precise topic together with other stakeholders working on the same issue allows you to increase your network, and to identify potential scientific or commercial collaboration.
- Licensing revenues of patents by referencing them into standards
Under certain conditions, it is possible to reference your patent in a standard, provided you are willing to licence the use of the technology on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis.
- Foster access to the market
Taking into account existing standards already within a research project gives a guarantee that, if a product is developed afterwards, this product will respect existing standards and have a better access to the market.
- Easier access to the market
Translating research results or innovation into the form of normative documents (of terminology in a new area, new measurement methods, applications of new technologies, organisation of innovative services, good practices etc.) can provide technical validation and a better access of the innovation solutions on the market.
- Bigger market
Developing an EU standard mean the potential access to the EU market ( more than 500 million inhabitants). The European Standardization Organisations also have agreements with the International Standards Organisations (ISO and IEC).
- Potential access to public procurement schemes
Standards codify the state of the art of innovative product and services, and are often used as references in public procurement schemes
- Estimating the creation of economic value by your research project
Using standards as an indicator of the long-term creation of economic value, which can be generated by research projects, can be a tool to evaluate and demonstrate their potential for innovation.
- Codification of the state of the art and identification of new research areas
Existing standards can codify and spread the state of the art in various technologies. The identification of existing standards in some sectors and the need for additional standards can lead to the identification of new research needs and thus ideas for new research projects.
- Interoperability
Standards provide a basis for the integration of technologies into complex, innovative systems and solutions, and assist in ensuring interoperability.
- More consumer confidence
Standards can offer reassurance to consumers in the application of new technologies, for example through the assessment of risks, the measurement of performance, etc...)
- Standards foster competition
Standards foster competition, creating a level playing field for R&D
|