Subject: Revised Cooperative Agreement with VRML Consortium

From: Steve Carson <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 15:38:18 -0600

Here is a text version of the agreement as approved by the Consortium Board
of Directors today. The only big change that was asked for was in clause
5.1. We had asked to have our liaison representative made a member of the
VRML Review Board (VRB). We had misunderstood the fact that board members
are elected by the Consortium membership, not appointed, and so it was
politically very awkward to accept an appointed outside member. Instead, we
settled on the more neutral wording "The VRML Consortium accept an ISO/IEC
JTC 1 representative as a liaison representative to the VRML Review Board
(VRB)...". I also fixed a few minor typos.

If any NB has a problem with this change please let me know by Friday 20
July, otherwise we will agree that the document as revised below is
approved by SC 24.
- - -

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24 N 1741R

Cooperative Agreement Between ISO/IEC JTC1 and the VRML Consortium
Revision 1

Draft 5

3 July 1997

1 Introduction

This is the first revision of the original June 1997 agreement (ISO/IEC
JTC1/SC24 N1599) between ISO/IEC JTC1 and the VRML  (Virtual Reality
Modeling Language) Architecture Group (VAG). Since the time that the first
agreement was negotiated, the VAG has been superseded by a new organization
named the VRML Consortium. Also, the VRML Consortium has several new items
of work underway that supplement the VRML specification. Both ISO/IEC
JTC1/SC24 and the VRML Consortium have indicated their willingness to
extend and continue the cooperative arrangement in SC24 N1599 that has led
to the successful processing of the VRML 97 Specification as an ISO/IEC
standard.

The purpose of this document is to establish the detailed procedures
whereby ISO/IEC JTC1 and the VRML Consortium will cooperate to continue the
development of a series of ISO/IEC standards based on the work of the
Consortium, including the VRML 97 Specification (DIS 14772). The general
principles from which the details of this agreement are derived are:

a)	The VRML Consortium produces "publicly available" industry
specifications through an open, consensus based process with international
participation by thousands of individuals and organizations.

b)	ISO/IEC JTC1 wishes to adopt suitable industry specifications as ISO and
IEC standards.

c)	Both organizations desire to harmonize their procedures so that initial
technical development work is done primarily in the Consortium with
provisions for ISO participation and the final editorial and independent
technical assessment work is done primarily in the ISO/IEC JTC1 with
provisions for VRML Consortium participation.

d)	Both organizations desire that VRML Consortium Specifications be adopted
as ISO and IEC standards as quickly as is feasible and with only minimal
changes based on an agreed set of criteria. 

2 Distribution of final standards

All documents developed under this agreement, including the final ISO/IEC
standards, will be made available through ISO/IEC sources and also through
normal VRML Consortium sources, including the open VRML Consortium Web site. 

3 Document interchange

ISO/IEC documents developed under this agreement will be made available to
the VRML Consortium and the VRML community by placing copies on the VRML
Consortium Web site. Relevant VRML Consortium Documents on the VRML
Consortium Web site will be referenced in the ISO/IEC activity. No
documents will be referenced which are not generally available.
Notification of availability of new documents on the VRML Consortium web
site will be announced on an e-mail reflector limited to the appropriate
ISO/IEC WG(s) and the VRML Consortium participants only.

4 Intellectual property rights

In accordance with VRML Consortium procedures, the text of all working
documents developed under this agreement, as well as the final ISO/IEC
standards, shall remain free of intellectual property right restrictions
which would limit their open distribution following normal VRML Consortium
practices. The name of the standards (including the words "VRML" and
"Virtual Reality Modeling Language" shall also remain free of intellectual
property right restrictions.) The VRML Consortium certifies to ISO/IEC that
the original base document (the VRML 97 specification) is free of
intellectual property right restrictions, and in particular, contains no
material which any organization claims is proprietary or confidential or is
the subject of any patent.  If and when other work beyond that based on the
VRML 97 specification is initiated with ISO/IEC JTC1, the VRML Consortium
agrees to identify any intellectual property right restrictions to ISO/IEC
in accordance with ISO/IEC policies.

5 Alignment of procedures

To allow coordinated review of all working documents developed under this
agreement, appropriate portions of ISO and VRML Consortium procedures must
be aligned. The various aspects of this alignment are described in the
following subclauses.

5.1 Liaison

The ISO/IEC JTC1 Class C Liaison mechanism will be used as a primary
mechanism to enable cooperation. ISO/IEC JTC1 has appointed the VRML
Consortium as a Class C liaison organization to ISO/IEC JTC1.  This allows
VRML Consortium members to attend ISO/IEC working meetings and to
participate in the work of the ISO/IEC.  The VRML Consortium accept an
ISO/IEC JTC 1 representative as a liaison representative to the VRML Review
Board (VRB) so that liaison in the other direction can be achieved.  This
representative shall have the following responsibilities:

a)	at the point that the VRML Review Board agrees that work should be
passed to ISO/IEC JTC1 for further processing, forward documents to ISO/IEC
JTC1;

b)	pass formal comments from ISO/IEC JTC1 to the VRML community;

c)	report on the work of the VRML Consortium at each relevant ISO/IEC JTC1
or JTC1 subcommittee meeting;

d)	in coordination with the VRB, provide early notification to ISO/IEC JTC1
of VRML Consortium work that is likely to eventually be submitted to
ISO/IEC JTC1.

5.2 Early collaboration

Both organizations desire that any VRML Consortium specifications that are
input into ISO/IEC JTC1 be as close to meeting ISO/IEC style and quality
requirements as possible. To help achieve this goal, ISO/IEC JTC1 agrees to
produce a "Style Guide" and provide it as an aid to VRML Consortium Working
Groups for use in the original creation of their specifications.

Participation in all VRML Consortium Working Groups is open to any
individual worldwide without restriction. ISO/IEC JTC1 National Bodies are
encouraged to participate in the technical work on VRML by participating in
these Working Groups. Since the desire of both organizations is that
technical changes shall not be made once work has been passed to ISO/IEC
JTC1 for finalization, ISO/IEC JTC1 National Bodies will encourage their
technical experts to participate in VRML Working Groups.

5.3 Initiation of ISO/IEC work

No work on VRML Consortium specifications shall start within ISO/IEC JTC1
until the VRB has agreed that the work will be forwarded to ISO for
processing as an ISO/IEC Standard. This requirement shall not prevent
individual experts who participate in the work of ISO/IEC JTC1 from
simultaneously participating in the technical work of one or more VRML
Consortium Working Groups. The criteria that shall be applied by the VRB
with the assistance of the ISO/IEC liaison representative include:

a)	the work is of sufficient interest and importance to the VRML community
to become an ISO/IEC standard;

b)	the work is complete as measured by the Style Guide described in Clause
5.2;

c)	the  work is technically stable.

The preferred mechanism for initiating work within ISO/IEC JTC1 is the
combined NP/CD (New Work Item Proposal/Committee Draft) ballot. One
exception is work that can be processed as an additional part of an
existing standard so that an NP is not required. As a general rule,
submitted specifications shall have reached the status of VRML Consortium
Standard by the time of their submission to ISO/IEC JTC1.

5.4 Finalization of ISO/IEC work

ISO/IEC JTC1 and the VRML Consortium agree to the following procedures for
the processing work once it has entered ISO/IEC JTC1:

a)	From the time of initiation of processing (normally the NP/CD ballot)
through to the publication of the IS text, ISO/IEC JTC1 procedures shall be
followed.

b)	The VRML Consortium can participate in this stage of the work through
the Category C liaison mechanism.

c)	The ISO/IEC DIS text shall be published by the VRML Consortium for
review within the Consortium according to Consortium practices
simultaneously with the DIS ballot within ISO/IEC. 

5.5 Late stage technical changes

It is expected that many editorial changes may be made to a Consortium
specification as it is processed to become an ISO/IEC standard.

Technical changes to a specification once ISO/IEC processing has been
initiated shall be allowed only in accordance with the following criteria:

a)	clarification is necessary for the sake of completeness or consistency;

b)  a serious technical flaw is found that would render the specification
unusable; or
c)  
d)  both organizations agree to the change.

6 Joint meetings

All formal work under this agreement will take place at appropriately
scheduled ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24 meetings. VRB members can participate in formal
ISO through the Class C liaison mechanism.

7 Publication rights

Both VRML and ISO/IEC retain the rights to publish all documents developed
under this agreement according to their own practices. 

8 Base document

At the time that a VRML Consortium specification is submitted to ISO/IEC
JTC1 for processing as an ISO/IEC standard, the VRML Consortium shall
identify the base document(s) for the work.

9 Availability of drafts and other working documents 

All drafts and working documents will be freely available to participants
according to each party's normal practices. 

10. Maintenance of standards

Both organizations agree to coordinate matters of interpretation and defect
correction in any ISO/IEC standards that result from this agreement.  When
requests for interpretation or reports of defects are submitted to ISO/IEC
JTC1, they shall be forwarded to the VRML Consortium to provide solutions
which shall then be processed through normal ISO/IEC JTC1 processes for
defect resolution and interpretation. 

ISO/IEC JTC1 agrees to establish a VRML Defects Editing Committee to work
with the VRML Consortium.

Steve Carson
Chair, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24
Computer Graphics and Image Processing
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Steve Carson                 phone:   +1-505-521-7399
GSC Associates Inc.          fax:     +1-505-521-9321
5272 Redman Road             e-mail:  [email-masked]
Las Cruces, NM 88011 USA
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