The intellectual property embedded in the software and standards that underlie the Internet represent billions of dollars of assets. (In 2008 [1] the Linux ecosystem alone was valued at $25B.) These assets are often managed by non-profit foundations like the Linux Foundation, the Apache Foundation and the Wikimedia Foundation. These non-business and non-government 501c3 organizations are charged with maintaining their valuable assets for the public good.
Read more at Forbes.com [2]