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Comment by TazeTSchnitzel | Hacker News Reader

To cover the operating costs, pay their employees, etc. If they gave them away free they'd need sponsors I guess.

So it's probably to maintain neutrality.

I would have expected that cost to be covered by those seeking to establish a standard rather than the people who want to implement it.

Does that mean submitters and downloaders pay or just downloaders?

They are funded by member organizations.

That is not entirely true. ISO itself is funded by the member bodies (the national subgroups so to say), member organizations and selling standards. This gives the concrete figures for 2011 [1] on page 2.

[1] http://www.iso.org/iso/about/iso_in_figures.htm

Well, of course, they make money by selling standards, since they sell them.

From your link (2011):

    55 %	 through membership fees
    45 %	 through sales of publications and other income from services

    2010: 53/47
    2009: 55/45
    2008: 60/40
    ..
    2006: 62/38
    2005: 65/35
    ..
    2002: 80 % - financed directly
          20 % - member body subscriptions and publications income

I think they can operate without paid publications. They could, at least.

Am I reading your link right that they receive 45% of their revenue from selling publications? I don't know many organizations that could stand losing 55% of their revenue.

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