From carson@siggraph.org Mon Jul 14 17:51:40 1997 Received: from ratatosk.DK.net (root@ratatosk.DK.net [193.88.44.22]) by dkuug.dk (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id RAA24610 for ; Mon, 14 Jul 1997 17:51:38 +0200 Received: from siggraph.cgrg.ohio-state.edu (siggraph.cgrg.ohio-state.edu [128.146.18.100]) by ratatosk.DK.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id RAA01039 for ; Mon, 14 Jul 1997 17:51:31 +0200 Received: from study.huntleigh.com (carson@siggraph.org) by siggraph.cgrg.ohio-state.edu (8.8.5/941010.52) with SMTP id LAA25531; Mon, 14 Jul 1997 11:50:07 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <3.0.32.19970714095301.00a40dcc@siggraph.cgrg.ohio-state.edu> X-Sender: carson@siggraph.cgrg.ohio-state.edu (Unverified) X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0 (32) Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 09:53:38 -0600 To: SC24@dkuug.dk From: Steve Carson Subject: Statement to SC29 Cc: rikk@best.com, gavin@acm.org, cmarrin@sgi.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I received only positive comments concerning the statement to SC29, so this was sent to them by e-mail today. This is a joint statement from ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24 and the VRML Consortium to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29. It has been approved by both the P-members of SC24 and by the Board of Directors of the VRML Consortium. ISO/IEC JTC 1/ SC 24 N 1766 Title: Joint Statement from ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24 and the VRML Consortium to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29 Thank you for the recent e-mail exchange with us regarding the use of VRML 2.0 in MPEG-4. First we want to reiterate the willingness of both ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24 and the VRML Consortium to work with SC29/WG11 in making a proper, normative reference to DIS 14772-1 (VRML) from the CD for MPEG-4. To this end, at the urging of technical experts involved in VRML, we recently had the opportunity to review SC29/WG 11 N 1683 ("Overview of the MPEG-4 standard") and N 1692 ("Working Draft 4.0 of ISO/IEC 14496-1"), both dated April 1997. To our shock and dismay we find that the MPEG-4 work has taken material from an older Working Draft version of DIS 14772 and has incorporated that material into the MPEG-4 specification without permission and further has modified it without permission. The VRML specification from which the material was improperly used was copyrighted and its use by ISO was further governed by the terms of a Cooperative Agreement between the VRML Architecture Group (the predecessor of the VRML Consortium and the previous owners of the specification) and both ISO and the IEC. This agreement (which has been endorsed by SC 24, JTC 1, and both ISO and IEC Councils) places strict limits on the use of any portion of the VRML specification (in whole or in part) within ISO and IEC. In particular, the material is to be used within JTC 1 only for purposes of working jointly and cooperatively with the VAG (now the VRML Consortium) to create a single version of VRML that is both an International Standard and a VRML Consortium Standard. Both the VRML Consortium and SC24 are committed is seeing that there is "only one VRML." Therefore we must ask you to remove from MPEG-4 all text that you have copied from older versions of VRML and that you replace it by a proper, normative reference to DIS 14772. This includes any "derived text," including but not limited to the specific node names and 3D information structuring concepts that you have taken from VRML. Although SC 29 could choose to invent some new 3D format that is totally different from VRML, for use in MPEG-4, we strongly urge you to work cooperatively with us to apply the one and only VRML Standard to your work. VRML has tremendous flexibility already available in the language. There is good reason to believe that a cooperative approach will strengthen and benefit the overall MPEG-4 effort. We are ready and eager to assist you in this process. signed: Steve Carson Neil Trevett Chair, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24 3D Labs Computer Graphics and Image Processing President, VRML Consortium Steve Carson Chair, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24 Computer Graphics and Image Processing --------------------------------------------------------- Steve Carson phone: +1-505-521-7399 GSC Associates Inc. fax: +1-505-521-9321 5272 Redman Road e-mail: carson@siggraph.org Las Cruces, NM 88011 USA ---------------------------------------------------------