Cognitive radio is widely expected to be the next Big Bang in wireless communications. Government spectrum regulatory committees in many countries have been taking steps to open the door to dynamic spectrum access using this technology and also laying down the rules for its implementation. International organizations have also been striving for standardizing this technology for various applications. This paper overviews the state of art in the regulatory and standardization activities on cognitive radio all over the world, which are deemed to have fundamental impact on the future of wireless communications.