A key to keeping the costs reasonable will be using technology that employs open standards instead of proprietary techniques. Adopting proprietary standards for court filings would be comparable to buying a new type of car that required a patented type of fuel, available from only one supplier. Nearly any such supplier would be tempted to take advantage of its fuel monopoly by charging exorbitant prices after it had built up a user base. No matter how technically superior such a car might seem to be, a reasonable person would think twice before making such an investment. The nation s court administrators would be well advised to demonstrate a similar level of skepticism before buying into proprietary technology for e-filing.
Open standards are essential.
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