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).
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).