A relationship between open formats & open source package is ofttimes misunderstood. Several proprietary software system package readily utilise open formats, & open source software might typically have proprietary formats. For instance, HTML, the familiar open format markup language of the World Wide Web, creates the foundation for proprietary web browsers rather Microsoft's Internet Explorer as well as open source software browsers like Mozilla Firefox. Meanwhile, OpenOffice.org, the open source desktop office application, can manipulate proprietary DOC formats from Microsoft, as well as open formats like OpenDocument. Eventually, occasionally corporations stand published specifications of their formats, making it conceivable to implement readers or even writers for different platforms by different seller, corresponding Adobe's PDF, or Microsoft's RTF. Still, occasionally proprietary formats come covered by a few form of restrictive requirements that will forbid open source computer software implementations (at least under certain licenses most common for a babies, like the GNU General Public License). Based on data from a select few critics, such formats inhibit competition.

A primary goal of open formats is to assure long-semipermanent access to information while forgoing todays or even even first uncertainty sustaining regard to legal rights or technical indicator specification. The most common secondary goal of open formats is to enable competition, instead of letting the marketer's control all over the proprietary format to inhibit utilise of competing products. Governments own progressively shown an interest around open format issues.

Political developments
In the United States, Massachusetts became the de to specifically location open formats & its importance to public documents. As the result a [http://www.mass.gov/eoaf/open_formats_comments.html proposed open format standard] announced by Eric Kriss, the state's Secretary for Administratiin & Finance, Massachusetts convened an open format summit on June 9, 2005. Attendees involved Secretary Kriss, state CIO Peter Quinn, & representatives of each proprietary & open formats.

In August 31, 2005, Massachusetts freed a revised draft of its open format policy that explicitly endorsed the OASIS OpenDocument formats beginning in 2007, a diamond state to choose such action. A implication for even software package vender is that their products must trend lines open formats by 2007 or it is flushed from either state employee desktops. Microsoft Office, which does not trend lines open formats, presently holds the about 100% part of professional applicatiin software package on Massachusetts government computers. The final policy was freed September 21, 2005.

Examples of open formats
OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (for office documents) TXT (a text format) RTF (a text format) HTML (a markup language) PDF (a document description format) JPEG (an image format) PNG (an image format) Scalable Vector Graphics (an image format) FLAC (an audio format) OGG Vorbis (an audio format)