Governments have no problem allowing de facto specifications to be closed. 5G is heavily patent protected, for example. MPEG is heavily patent protected. Typic

Governments have no problem allowing de facto specifications to be closed. 5G is heavily patent protected, for example. MPEG is heavily patent protected. Typically patents "essential" for a standard are licensed on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) terms. But you do still have to go and pay for the license (sometimes from all the individual companies that have patents, sometimes from a consortium that represents the entire patent pool for a standard).