These are technical standards, for example the IBM PC Bus or Intel's new PCI Bus, which were developed by one company or a group of companies and then put in the public domain for everyone to use. Hewlett Packard was probably the first, and is certainly the most consistent, company to contribute to open standards in electronics. Competing with takes speed and skill. The schooner's massive sails and sleek design enabled its crew to outrun other ships. Competing against fosters secrecy and a control mentality within a company and between a company and its customers.
Progress is slow and painful.
Technologists in different departments withhold information from one another to protect their turf. Competing against sacrifices speed to carry armaments. Spanish galleons wallowed across the ocean brimming with cannons. Crews relied on armaments to protect the loot their government had authorized them to steal from the New World. The overprotection provided by Copyrights exacerbates this problem.