The Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) has agreed to keep blockchain standards open, calling it a victory for the transportation industry.
BiTA Co-Founder, Craig Fuller, said in a statement its newly formed Board discussed blockchain technology intellectual property rights.
“The Board decided that open standards would truly be open and anyone that used the BiTA standard would not have to pay for the rights,” said Fuller.
“This is profound, and not a typical approach that happens in technology standards organisations. By making the standards royalty free, it essentially means that anyone and everyone can have access to them, without having to pay a third party for using them.
“Consider it a victory for freedom and the transportation industry, because it means that BiTA's standards [for] intellectual property will be available for everyone to access and take advantage of, without having to license it from some group that collects payments,” he said.
This was a real test for the young organisation, according to Fuller, comparing the work of BiTA to that of the Internet Society that in 1992 created the IP address standards and also pushed for it to be open.
“The makeup of the Board likely weighed heavily into the outcome,” said Fuller.
“Fortunately, the Board was not set up to be heavily weighted toward one industry vertical. In fact, it’s the only transportation organisation where vendors, banks, insurance companies, accountants, lawyers, 3PLs, carriers, technology conglomerates, startups, and shippers all have an equal voice.
“The board also fits this definition. The BiTA board is comprised of FedEx, UPS, P&S, Triumph, McLeod Software, Trimble, TransRisk, Salesforce, Echo Global Logistics, and Kleinschmidt. All of these companies have different business models, but the beauty is all are equally focused on solving major issues in the transportation space,” he said.
Earlier this month, US-based transportation services company, Penske Logistics, gained entry into BiTA as a corporate member.
(Image: the Blockchain in Transport Alliance Board.)