Free Software Magazine: Free File Formats and the Future of Intellectual Freedom

“So far, proprietary formats have been maintained through a
number of short-term tricks, but the advantages of free formats
become clearer in the long run. Business and the computer industry
have tended to be very shortsighted. However there are some
important classes of technically proficient users with a much
longer outlook, whose needs can only be met by free file formats.
If we in the free software community want to see free formats take
hold, we need to address the needs of these users. We need to do
this in order to leverage their interest into long-term acceptance
of free standards by the world at large. We also need to ensure
free standards exist — because in many key areas they just
don’t. Fortunately, the record provides good evidence that free
software developers will step forward to meet these needs, once
they become aware of them…”

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