That's a somewhat idealised view: there is certainly value in it, which is why members all pay a hefty membership fee (to the tune of 21M CHF last year, which i

That's a somewhat idealised view: there is certainly value in it, which is why members all pay a hefty membership fee (to the tune of 21M CHF last year, which is half of their revenue). For details, check out their 2020 financials page: https://www.iso.org/ar2020.html#section-finances https://www.iso.org/ar2020.html#section-finances I am only highlighting how proceeds from the sale of ISO standards are not being distributed to ISO members, including national standardization bodies, nor any contributors. I'd hope that country ISO members would push for their membership fees to cover for distribution of standards for free (even if it meant increasing those fees) — that'd be a much more sensible approach IMHO. Or they could optimize slightly not to need those royalty fees in the first place.