Media Relations Guidelines

OASIS Open has established the following Media Relations Guidelines in order to ensure clear, factual communications with the public and protect the interests of all our members. This document applies to press releases, analyst reports, contributed articles, presentations at conferences, and any official communications with the media or in a public forum regarding OASIS work.

Contents:

Press Communications Initiated by OASIS
Press Communications Initiated by Member and Non-Member Organizations and Individuals
OASIS Web Sites and Newsletters
Presentations at Conferences, Seminars, Other Events
Feedback

Press Communications Initiated by OASIS

OASIS press releases are issued at the discretion of OASIS management in order to promote major accomplishments and activities of the Consortium.

While OASIS deeply appreciates the technical contributions of all members, only Foundational Sponsor and Sponsor member organizations are recognized in announcements directed to the press and analyst community, as promotional benefits are exclusive to these categories of membership. (All OASIS Committee members are appropriately credited on the OASIS web site, Committee pages, and in approved OASIS Committee Drafts, Committee Specifications and OASIS Standards without bias.)

The Consortium issues press releases on announcements such as:

  • New OASIS Committees
    As a general guideline, an OASIS press release is issued to announce a new Committee that is able to demonstrate the support of at least three Foundational Sponsor or Sponsor members. This demonstration of market support is effective for generating positive coverage from editors and analysts. Press releases may be issued for Committees with less than three Foundational Sponsor or Sponsor members at the discretion of OASIS management, if significant participation can be demonstrated from Contributor members representing non-profit organizations and/or government agencies. Press releases announcing new OASIS Committees identify and include quotes only from those Foundational Sponsor and Sponsor members who have joined that Committee.
  • Approval of OASIS Standards
    To allow these releases to be issued in a timely fashion, announcements may be prepared during the voting process in anticipation of a favorable outcome. Solicitation of endorsements should not be interpreted as an implication or guarantee that a candidate OASIS Standard will be approved by the membership. Press releases announcing the approval of OASIS Standards identify those Foundational Sponsor and Sponsor members who have participated in the Committee that developed the standard. Any Foundational Sponsor or Sponsor member may submit an endorsement quote for an OASIS Standard-it is not necessary to be represented on the Committee to do so.
  • OASIS Interops and other events
    Releases on officially sanctioned OASIS Interop demonstrations identify and quote only those Foundational Sponsor and Sponsor members participating in the demonstration.

To protect the Consortium’s not-for-profit status and its role as an objective resource to the media, OASIS cannot accept member quotes for Consortium press releases that include qualitative or comparative information about member organizations or products.

Contributor-level members who would like to be included in OASIS press releases should contact member-services@oasis-open.org for information on upgrading their memberships.

Official Spokespersons

OASIS Committee chairs serve as the primary press spokespersons for their Committees. Chairs are quoted in OASIS press releases on behalf of their Committees. (If a Committee chair is employed by an OASIS Foundational Sponsor or Sponsor member, his/her organization may also provide a separate quote on its own behalf.)

OASIS staff are responsible for coordinating all press and analyst briefings on behalf of OASIS Committees. Members who are directly approached by the media for comment on behalf of an OASIS Committee should refer editors/analysts to communications@oasis-open.org. Employers of OASIS Committee chairs who act as spokespersons may elect to have their own media relations representatives monitor interviews.

OASIS Public Relations Group

Members are notified of upcoming OASIS press releases and opportunities for inclusion through the OASIS Public Relations Group. All member organizations are strongly encouraged to have at least one representative subscribed to this group.

Press Communications Initiated by Member and Non-Member Organizations and Individuals

Members are encouraged to promote adoption, demonstrate their support, and evangelize the work of OASIS through communications with the media, provided the work referenced has already been officially announced by OASIS. When issuing press releases and speaking to editors and analysts, members should:

  1. be clear that their comments reflect their own views, not necessarily those of OASIS;
  2. discuss only work that has already been officially announced by OASIS; and
  3. be accurate, taking care to reference the correct and complete name of the OASIS Committee, standard, or specification, as indicated on the Committee’s homepage.

Any press release issued by an OASIS member or other third party that mentions OASIS and/or OASIS Committees should be submitted to communications@oasis-open.org for review at least three business days prior to distribution. This advance notification ensures that OASIS staff will be able to fact check specific references to OASIS work and respond positively to any press or analyst inquiries received in connection with the announcement.

Members, liaisons, or other organizations are not authorized to make public announcements on behalf of OASIS. All press releases announcing OASIS work or activities of OASIS Committees are authorized and distributed by OASIS exclusively.

Organizations or individuals who wish to announce contributions to OASIS Committees must have reviewed and formally accepted the OASIS Intellectual Property Rights Policy either via a signed OASIS Membership Agreement or via a signed Feedback License Agreement.

OASIS Committee chairs will be consulted on press releases that reference the work of their Committees, however, chairs are not authorized to directly approve press releases on behalf of OASIS.

OASIS Quotes
OASIS welcomes requests to provide quotes for press releases issued by members or liaison organizations. OASIS recognizes members for their contributions and commitment, however, as a non-profit, vendor-neutral organization, the Consortium is unable to publicly endorse specific products or services.

Joint Press Releases
OASIS issues joint press releases with non-commercial organizations only.

Referencing OASIS Members
Parties that wish to issue press releases referencing OASIS members must obtain authorization from those organizations directly.

OASIS Web Sites and Newsletters

OASIS Committee accomplishments and news (such as technical contributions, scope changes, white papers, Committee Drafts, public review periods, etc.) are promoted through Consortium newsletters, web sites, and email lists. Committee chairs or their delegates should notify communications@oasis-open.org of any announcements of this nature and should post this information on the ‘Announcements’ section of their Committee homepages.

Presentations at Conferences, Seminars, Other Events

Members, liaisons, and third parties are encouraged to deliver public presentations that discuss OASIS work and/or products that support OASIS Standards or specifications, provided the work referenced has already been officially announced by OASIS.

Speaking on behalf of OASIS Committees

To speak publicly on behalf of an OASIS Committee, an individual should:

Speaking on behalf of an OASIS member or third party

The above requirements do not apply to individuals when speaking about OASIS work on behalf of themselves or their employers. In these instances, OASIS members are encouraged to use the OASIS Member Logo on their slides.

Feedback

Suggestions that improve upon the above procedures or which seek to add value to the overall OASIS Media Relations Guidelines are welcomed. Please send comments to communications@oasis-open.org.