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Table of Contents

1. Definitions 2. Technical Committees 2.1 TC Discussion Lists 2.2 TC Formation 2.3 First Meeting of a TC 2.4 TC Membership and Participation 2.5 Termination of TC Membership 2.6 Leaves of Absence 2.7 TC Chairs 2.8 TC Visibility 2.9 TC Procedure 2.10 TC Meetings 2.11 TC Charter Clarification 2.12 TC Rechartering 2.13 TC Voting 2.14 TC Subcommittees 2.15 Closing a TC 2.16 Reserved 2.17 Intellectual Property Rights Procedures 2.18 Specification Quality 2.19 Designated Cross-Reference Changes 3. Standards Approval Process 3.1 Approval of a Committee Draft 3.2 Public Review 3.3 Approval of a Committee Specification 3.4 Approval of an OASIS Standard 3.5 Approved Errata 4. Board of Directors Involvement in the Standards Process 4.1 OASIS TC Administrator 4.2 Appeals 5.0 Application to Existing TCs

Section 1. Definitions

1. “Approved Errata” shall have the meaning defined in Section 3.5.
2. “Charter” is the organizational document for a TC comprised of the items included in the proposal to form that TC, as defined in Section 2.2, and may be modified as described in Section 2.11.
3. “Committee Draft” is an interim document approved by a Technical Committee as specified in Section 3.
4. “Committee Specification” is a Public Review Draft that has completed public review and achieved final approval by a Technical Committee as specified in Section 3.
5. “Convener” is an Eligible Person who serves in the role of organizing the first meeting of the TC, as defined in Section 2.3.
6. “Eligible Person” means one of a class of individuals that includes (a) OASIS Individual Members, (b) employees or designees of OASIS Organizational Members, and (c) such other persons as may be designated by the OASIS Board of Directors.
7. “Errata” means a set of changes or proposed changes to a specification that are not Substantive Changes.
8. “Full Majority Vote” is a TC vote in which more than 50% (more than half) of the Voting Members vote “yes”, regardless of the number of Voting Members present in the meeting. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a TC in which there are 20 Voting Members, at least 11 Voting Members must vote “yes” for a motion to pass.
9. “IPR” means intellectual property rights.
10. “Leave of Absence” shall have the meaning defined in Section 2.6.
11. “Meeting” is a meeting of the TC that is properly called and scheduled in advance as described in Section 2.10.
12. “Member”, with respect to a TC, means an Eligible Person who is allowed to subscribe to the TC email list, participate in list discussions, attend and participate in TC meetings, and make Contributions to the TC. The process for becoming a Member of a TC is defined in Section 2.4.
13. “Minimum Membership” means five Voting Members of a TC (or, in the case of a TC about to be formed, five Eligible Persons), at least two of which represent OASIS Organizational Members.
14. “Normative Portion” shall have the meaning defined for such term by the OASIS IPR Policy.
15. “Normative Reference” means a reference in a specification to an external document or resource with which the implementer must comply, in order to comply with a Normative Portion of the specification.
16. “OASIS Draft Deliverable” means any of the following: Working Drafts, Committee Drafts and Public Review Drafts.
17. “OASIS Final Deliverable” means any of the following: Committee Specifications, OASIS Standards and Approved Errata.
18. “OASIS Individual Member” means an OASIS Member who is classified as such in their executed Membership Agreement.
19. “OASIS Member” means a person, organization or entity who is a voting or non-voting member of the corporation, as defined by the OASIS Bylaws.
20. “OASIS Organizational Member” means an OASIS Member who is classified as such in their executed Membership Agreement.
21. “OASIS Standard” is a Committee Specification that has been submitted by a Technical Committee and reviewed and approved by the OASIS Membership as specified in Section 3.
22. “OASIS TC Administrator” means the person or persons representing OASIS in administrative matters relating to TCs. All official communications must be sent to tc-admin@oasis-open.org.
23. “Observer” is an Eligible Person who is subscribed to the TC email list, and may attend TC meetings, but is not allowed to participate in TC email list discussions, participate or speak in TC meetings, or make Contributions to the TC. The process for becoming an Observer is defined in Section 2.4.
24. “Persistent Non-Voting Member” is a TC Member who has declared their non-voting status in that TC. The process for becoming a Persistent Non-Voting Member of a TC is defined in Section 2.4.
25. “Primary Representative”, for any OASIS Organizational Member, means the person or persons designated by that Member to serve as the consortium’s principal contact for administrative issues.
26. “Public” and “publicly” mean all persons, organizations and entities, whether or not OASIS Members.
27. “Public Review Draft” is a Committee Draft that has been approved by the TC to go to public review as specified in Section 3 of this Process.
28. “Quorum” is the number of Voting Members of a TC that must be present in a meeting so that Resolutions and decisions may be made. The Quorum for OASIS TC meetings is a simple majority (more than half) of Voting Members.
29. “Quorate Meeting” is a TC meeting at which a Quorum is present.
30. “Resolution” means a decision reached by a TC by vote. Resolutions require a Simple Majority Vote to pass, unless a Full Majority Vote or Special Majority Vote is required under this Process.
31. “Simple Majority Vote” is a vote in which the number of “yes” votes cast is greater than the number of “no” votes cast. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a quorate meeting in which 20 Voting Members are present, if 7 vote “yes” and 4 vote “no”, the motion passes.
32. “Special Majority Vote” is a TC vote in which at least 2/3 (two thirds) of the Voting Members vote ” yes” and no more than 1/4 (one fourth) of the Voting Members vote “no”. These numbers are based on the total number of Voting Members. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a TC in which there are 30 Voting Members, at least 20 Voting Members must vote “yes” for a motion to pass; but if 8 or more vote “no” then the motion fails. All Special Majority Votes must be conducted via electronic ballot by the OASIS TC Administrator.
33. “Specification Approval Motion” is any motion to initiate a TC ballot to advance the status of a specification, including the approval of a Committee Draft, the approval of a Public Review Draft (initiating a Public Review), the approval of a Committee Specification, and the submission by the TC of a Committee Specification to OASIS for approval as an OASIS Standard.
34. “Specification Ballot” is any ballot on the approval of the technical content of a document work within the TC, such as the approval of a Committee Draft, start of Public Review, approval of Committee Specification, or submission of a Committee Specification to OASIS for approval as an OASIS Standard.
35. “Statement of Use”, with respect to a specification, is a written statement by an OASIS Organizational Member stating that it is successfully using or implementing that specification in accordance with the conformance clauses specified in Section 2.18, and stating whether its use included the interoperation of multiple independent implementations.
36. “Subcommittee”(or “SC”) is a group of Members of a TC producing recommendations for consideration by the parent TC.
37. “Substantive Change” is a change to a specification that would require a compliant application or implementation to be modified or rewritten in order to remain compliant.
38. “Technical Committee” (or “TC”) means a group comprised of at least the Minimum Membership formed and conducted according to the provisions of this OASIS TC Process.
39. “Voting Member” is a Member of a TC who has voting rights in the TC. The process for gaining voting rights is defined in Section 2.4.
40. “Working Draft” is any version of a specification or other document produced by the TC which has not yet received any level of approval from the TC.

The use of the term “day” or “days” in this TC Process refers to calendar days.

Section 2. Technical Committees

2.1. TC Discussion Lists

Any group of at least three Eligible Persons may begin a publicly subscribable discussion list for the purpose of forming a TC by submitting to the OASIS TC Administrator the following items:

(1) The name of the discussion list, which shall not be the same as the name of the list in which the TC itself shall operate if formed.

(2) A preliminary statement of scope for the TC whose formation the list is intended to discuss.

(3) The names, electronic mail addresses, and OASIS Organizational or Individual Membership affiliations of the three or more Eligible Persons proposing to create the discussion list.

(4) The name of the discussion list leader.

No later than 15 days following the submission, the OASIS TC Administrator shall provide these materials to the OASIS Membership with a Call For Participation in a discussion list whose purpose is to propose the TC described in the application.

Discussion on the list is restricted to evaluating the interest in proposing a new OASIS TC, and defining the proposal for one or more new OASIS TCs. The list of subscribers to the discussion list shall be available to all subscribers. The discussion list shall automatically close 90 days after the Call For Participation is issued.

2.2. TC Formation

Any group of at least Minimum Membership shall be authorized to begin a TC by submitting to the OASIS TC Administrator, with a copy to those listed in 2(d) and 2(e) below, the following items, written in English and provided in electronic form as plain text. No information other than these items may be included in the proposal. All items must be provided in any subsequent revision of the proposal, and must be submitted in the same manner as the original submission.

(1) The Charter of the TC, which includes only the following items:

(1)(a) The name of the TC, such name not to have been previously used for an OASIS TC and not to include any trademarks or service marks not owned by OASIS. The proposed TC name is subject to TC Administrator approval and may not include any misleading or inappropriate names. The proposed name must specify any acronyms or abbreviations of the name that shall be used to refer to the TC.

(1)(b) A statement of purpose, including a definition of the problem to be solved.

(1)(c) The scope of the work of the TC, which must be germane to the mission of OASIS, and which includes a definition of what is and what is not the work of the TC, and how it can be determined when the work of the TC has been completed. The scope may reference a specific contribution of existing work as a starting point, but other contributions may be made by TC Members on or after the first meeting of the TC. Such other contributions shall be considered by the TC Members on an equal basis to improve the original starting point contribution.

(1)(d) A list of deliverables, with projected completion dates.

(1)(e) Specification of the IPR Mode under which the TC will operate.

(1)(f) The anticipated audience or users of the work.

(1)(g) The language in which the TC shall conduct business.

(2) Non-normative information regarding the startup of the TC, which includes:

(2)(a) Identification of similar or applicable work that is being done in other OASIS TCs or by other organizations, why there is a need for another effort in this area and how this proposed TC will be different, and what level of liaison will be pursued with these other organizations.

(2)(b) The date, time, and location of the first meeting, whether it will be held in person or by telephone, and who will sponsor this first meeting. The first meeting of a TC shall occur no less than 30 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a meeting held exclusively by telephone or other electronic means, and no less than 45 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a meeting held face-to-face (whether or not a telephone bridge is also available).

(2)(c) The projected on-going meeting schedule for the year following the formation of the TC, or until the projected date of the final deliverable, whichever comes first, and who will be expected to sponsor these meetings.

(2)(d) The names, electronic mail addresses, and membership affiliations of at least Minimum Membership who support this proposal and are committed to the Charter and projected meeting schedule.

(2)(e) For each OASIS Organizational Member listed in (2)(d), the name, electronic mail address, membership affiliation, and statement of support for the proposed Charter from the Primary Representative.

(2)(f) The name of the Convener who must be an Eligible Person.

(2)(g) The name of the Member Section with which the TC intends to affiliate, if any.

(2)(h) Optionally, a list of contributions of existing technical work that the proposers anticipate will be made to this TC.

(2)(i) Optionally, a draft Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document regarding the planned scope of the TC, for posting on the TC’s website.

(2)(j) Optionally, a proposed working title and acronym for the specification(s) to be developed by the TC.

No later than 5 days following the submission, the OASIS TC Administrator shall either return the submission to its originators, with an explanation indicating its failure to meet the requirements set forth in this section, or shall post notice of the submission to an announced mailing list (or equivalent method) visible to the submission proposers and the OASIS Membership, for comment.

The notice will announce that comments will be received until the 14th day after the notice, and will announce a date within 4 days of that 14th day for a conference call, among the Convener, the OASIS TC Administrator, and those proposers who wish to attend. Other OASIS Members who wish to attend may observe.

The proposer group may amend their submission at any time until the 28th day after the submission (except that changes to the roster of proposers may occur at any time until the final posting). By the 28th day the proposer group must post a pointer to an account of each of the comments / issues raised during that review, along with its resolution.

No later than the 30th day after the submission, if those pointers have been posted, and the last version of the submission from the proposer group meets the requirements of these rules, the OASIS TC Administrator must post them to the OASIS Membership with a Call For Participation and an announcement of a first meeting. Otherwise, the Convener may obtain a single 10-day extension for posting a compliant proposal with the OASIS TC Administrator.

2.3 First Meeting of a TC

Eligible Persons intending to participate in the first meeting must use the OASIS collaborative tools to register as a TC Member, and to specify whether they intend to gain voting rights, no later than 7 days prior to a meeting held exclusively by telephone (or other electronic means) or 15 days prior to a face to face meeting. No later than 7 days prior to the meeting, the OASIS TC Administrator will post a notice to the prospective Members on the TC’s general email list inviting indications of candidacy for TC Chair to be posted to that list.

If the Eligible Person is an employee or designee of an OASIS Organizational Member, the Primary Representative of that organization must confirm to the Convener and to the TC Administrator that the person may become a Member of the TC.

Every Eligible Person who has so registered and been confirmed shall be a Member of the TC beginning with the first meeting. Every Eligible Person who has so registered, requested voting rights, been confirmed, and is present at the first meeting of a TC shall be a Voting Member of the TC beginning with the first meeting.

The first meeting of a TC must occur at the place and time and in the manner described in the announcement. Any initial meeting whose time or location is changed and any initial telephone or other electronic meeting that fails to grant access to every Eligible Person previously registering to attend shall be subject to appeal as provided in Section 4.2.

At least Minimum Membership must become Voting Members at the first TC meeting or the TC shall be considered not to have been successfully started and shall be closed.

At the first meeting the TC must elect a Chair as the first order of business, from among nominations made by Voting Members at that meeting. Once the Chair is elected the role of Convener ends.

2.4. TC Membership and Participation

TC membership is per person, not per organization, and is not transferable from person to person.

2.4.1 Observer: An Eligible Person may become an Observer of a TC by registering as an Observer using the electronic collaboration tools provided by OASIS. If the Eligible Person is an employee or designee of an OASIS Organizational Member, the Primary Representative of that organization must be notified that the person has requested to become an Observer. The Observer is not a TC Member so has no attendance or participation requirements to maintain this status, other than to remain an Eligible Person.

2.4.2 Member: Any time after the first meeting, an Eligible Person shall become a Member of an existing TC by registering as a Member using the electronic collaboration tools provided by OASIS. If the Eligible Person is an employee or designee of an OASIS organizational Member, the Primary Representative of that organization must confirm to the Chair and to the TC Administrator that the person may become a Member of the TC. Upon receipt by the Chair of confirmation by the Primary Representative the Member may begin participating, but shall not have voting rights. A Member shall become eligible to vote in the TC when the requirements below are met.

2.4.3 Persistent Non-Voting Member: A Member or Voting Member may, at any time after joining a Technical Committee, send e-mail to both the Chair and the TC mailing list informing them of their change in membership status, effective as of the date of notice, or other specified future date. A Persistent Non-Voting Member retains participation rights but is not eligible to vote and does not count towards quorum. A Persistent Non-Voting Member who wishes to gain voting rights must send e-mail to both the Chair and the TC mailing list informing them of their intent to become a Voting Member and must follow the rules in section 2.4.4(c) as if they had lost their voting rights due to non-attendance.

2.4.4 Voting Member:

(a) After the first Meeting of a TC, a Member shall gain voting rights at the close of the second consecutive Meeting attended by the Member or, if less than two Meetings are called within 60 days after the person becomes a Member, at the close of that 60th day. OASIS Individual Members and the representatives of OASIS Organizational Members are equally eligible to serve as Voting Members of a TC.

(b) A Voting Member must be active in a TC to maintain voting rights. In TCs that hold Meetings, a Voting Member who is absent from two consecutive Meetings (as recorded in the minutes) loses his or her voting rights at the end of the second Meeting missed. If a TC has adopted a standing rule to conduct business only by electronic ballot, without Meetings, then a Voting Member who fails to cast a ballot in two consecutive Specification Ballots loses his or her voting rights at the close of the second ballot missed.

(c) A TC Member who has lost his or her voting rights shall regain them for a TC that holds Meetings by attending two consecutive Meetings (as recorded in the minutes), thus regaining voting rights after the end of the second Meeting attended or, if less than two Meetings are called within 60 days after the loss of such rights, at the close of that 60th day. A Member of a TC that does not hold Meetings may regain voting rights by making a request to the chair(s) to regain them, effective at the close of the 60th day after the request.

(d) Voting Members who lose their voting rights remain Members of the TC. A warning may be sent to the Member by the Chair, but the loss of voting rights is not dependent on the warning.

2.5 Termination of TC Membership

Except as provided in Section 2.6, membership in an OASIS TC shall be terminated under the following conditions:

(1) A Member shall be considered to have resigned from a TC upon his sending notification of resignation to the TC general email list.

(2) Persons who lose Eligible Person status for reasons including, but not limited to, change of employment shall have up to 15 days of TC membership as an OASIS Individual Member in which to request a Leave of Absence or re-establish eligibility. A Member shall lose TC membership on the 16th day after losing Eligible Person status or at the end of a Leave of Absence requested as specified in Section 2.6 if Eligible Person status has not been re-established.

Termination of membership in an OASIS TC shall automatically end voting rights in the TC as well as membership in any subcommittee of that TC.

2.6 Leaves of Absence

Every Voting Member of an OASIS TC shall be entitled to at least one Leave of Absence during any one twelve month period. During a Leave of Absence, a Voting Member shall be exempt from the participation criteria specified in Section 2.4. A first Leave of Absence during any one twelve month period shall be obtained automatically by sending an e-mail to both the Chair and the TC mailing list. The Chair must notify the TC of all Leaves of Absence by reporting them in the minutes of the TC’s next meeting.

A Voting Member who has already been granted a Leave of Absence during any twelve month period may apply for a maximum of one additional Leave of Absence during the same twelve month period, but a second Leave of Absence during any twelve month period shall be granted only upon formal Resolution of the TC.

A Voting Member of a TC who has been granted a Leave of Absence shall not have voting rights in the TC and all of its subcommittees for the duration of the Leave; voting rights shall resume immediately upon the person returning from Leave.

The length of a Leave of Absence shall be specified in advance by the Voting Member requesting it and shall not exceed 45 days. A Leave of Absence shall begin no earlier than seven days after the date upon which the request was delivered to the Chair of the TC and shall end on the date specified, or at the beginning of the first TC meeting or subcommittee meeting attended after the Leave begins, or upon transmittal of the first mail ballot returned after the Leave begins, whichever comes first. Time allocated for a Leave of Absence but not used due to early resumption of participation cannot be carried over into another Leave.

2.7. TC Chairs

Each TC must have a Chair. Only Members and Voting Members of the TC are eligible to be Chair or co-Chair. The TC Chair is initially elected at the first meeting. The Chair is elected by Full Majority Vote of the TC. If the TC does not have a Chair then all TC activities, with the exception of the selection of a new Chair, are suspended; if the TC does not have a Chair for 120 days, the TC Administrator must close the TC.

The responsibilities of Chair of a TC may be discharged by no more than two co-Chairs. In the event that the Chair position is so shared each co-Chair is equally responsible for the Chair duties and responsibilities. Throughout this TC Process, whenever a notification to the TC Chair is required this must be made to both co-Chairs.

A TC Chair may be removed by action of the Board of Directors or by a Special Majority Vote of the TC. In the event that a TC has co-Chairs each may be removed individually or both may be removed by a single action.

A vacancy in chairing a TC shall be deemed to exist when (i) the Chair or one or both co-Chairs has been removed, (ii) the Chair or one or both co-Chairs has resigned the position, or (iii) the Chair or one or both co-Chairs ceases to be a Member of the TC. Vacancies in chairing a TC shall be filled by election from the TC Members; the TC may elect at any time by vote to elect a co-Chair, if only one Chair is seated, or to leave a second seat vacant. Any TC chair or co-chair election shall be by Full Majority Vote of the TC, with each winning candidate having received a full majority vote regardless of the number of candidates.

The same provisions regarding Leaves of Absence shall apply to the Chair or co-Chair of a TC as to the other TC Members, and additionally the Chair must notify both the OASIS TC Administrator and the TC at least 30 days prior to any non-emergency leave of absence.

2.8 TC Visibility

The official copies of all resources of the TC and its associated subcommittees, including web pages, documents, email lists and any other records of discussions, must be located only on facilities designated by OASIS. TCs and SCs may not conduct official business or technical discussions, store documents, or host web pages on servers or systems not designated by OASIS. All web pages, documents, ballot results and email archives of all TCs and SCs shall be publicly visible.

Mail Lists: Each TC shall be provided upon formation with a general discussion email list and a means to collect public comments. Subscription to the general email list shall be required for Members, Voting Members, and Observers of the TC.

The minutes of each TC meeting and a record of all decisions shall be published to that TC’s general email list. All official communications and discussions of the TC must take place on the email list. All TC email lists shall be archived for the duration of the corporation, and all TC email archives shall be publicly visible.

The purpose of the TC’s public comment facility is to receive comments from the public and is not for public discussion. Comments shall be publicly archived, and shall be forwarded to one or more Members of the TC including the TC Chair. TCs shall not be required to respond to comments. Comments to the TC made by Members of the TC must be made via the TC general email list, and comments made by non-TC members, including from the public, must be made via the TC’s comment facility. Comments shall not be accepted via any other means.

Web Pages: The OASIS TC Administrator shall provide the TC with a publicly accessible web page. The TC must keep the following information current on the TC web page: the TC name and Charter; standing rules and other adopted procedures; meeting schedule; anticipated deliverables and delivery dates; list of TC Members; the name and email address of the TC Chair or co-Chairs as well as other positions such as secretary, editor, etc. that may exist; list of subcommittees, their deliverables, and members; links to a repository of the draft and completed TC documents with identification of the latest versions of the TC’s specifications; and a link to the IPR declarations for that TC.

Announcements: The OASIS TC Administrator shall create a publicly archived list for announcements from the OASIS TC Administrator regarding TCs. Any Eligible Person shall be able to subscribe to this list. Every important change in TC status shall be posted to the announcement list; such changes shall include but not be limited to the following: TC formation; TC Charter revision; start of Public Review; approval of Committee Specifications; submission of a Committee Specification as a proposed OASIS Standard; approval or rejection of a proposed OASIS Standard; and closure of a TC.

2.9 TC Procedure

The operation of TCs shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, insofar as such rules are not inconsistent with or in conflict with this TC Process, the OASIS IPR Policy, the OASIS Bylaws, other Board-approved policies, or with provisions of law. The duration of a TC shall be considered a single session. Formal actions of TCs shall be governed by the same rules regardless of the language in which the work is taking place.

Standing rules may be adopted, amended, or rescinded by Full Majority Vote of the TC. The TC may not adopt standing rules or other Resolutions related to IPR, quorum requirements, membership, voting, participation, or that otherwise conflict with or supersede any OASIS Board-approved policy. Standing rules, and any amendments to them, must be communicated to the TC Administrator, who may rescind them if they are in conflict with OASIS policy, and, in order to be enforceable, must be published on the TC’s web page.

2.10 TC Meetings

TC meetings must be properly called and scheduled in advance using the OASIS electronic collaborative tools. Meetings scheduled or conducted in such a manner as to exclude the participation of any Member is subject to appeal. Meetings may be conducted face-to-face or via telephone conference or other electronic media that allow participation of all Members of the TC. In order to enable the openness of TC proceedings, meetings should be scheduled and conducted so as to permit the presence of as many TC Observers as is logistically feasible. Meeting minutes must be recorded and published to the TC’s general email list and referenced on the TC web page.

Without a quorum present discussions may take place but no business may be conducted; those present may act as a “Committee of the Whole” as defined in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, and make a report to the entire TC. Attendance must be recorded in the meeting minutes. Meetings without quorum shall still count towards attendance for purposes of Members gaining, maintaining, or losing voting rights.

2.11 TC Charter Clarification

A TC may clarify its Charter only for the purpose of removing ambiguity or for narrowing the scope of the topic defined by the Charter. The TC may not broaden or otherwise change its scope of the topic of work. The list of deliverables may be expanded only if the new deliverables are within the scope of the topic.

Approval for clarification shall require a Special Majority Vote of the TC. The clarification of the Charter may occur no earlier than the first meeting of the TC. The TC Chair shall notify the TC Administrator that a motion has been made to clarify the Charter, and the TC Administrator shall set up and conduct the ballot.

The TC Administrator may prevent the proposed clarification from coming to vote if it is not in conformance with OASIS policies. The TC Administrator must within 15 days either open the ballot or reply to the TC with the reason why the change cannot be voted upon. The clarified Charter shall not take effect until approved and announced by the TC Administrator. The TC Administrator shall publicize approved changes as specified in Section 2.8 and any revisable publicly visible description (e.g., web page) promulgated by the TC shall be updated to reflect such changes.

2.12 TC Rechartering

A TC may be rechartered for purposes of expanding the scope of the TC. The TC shall retain the name of the predecessor, and all email lists and archives, web pages, etc. shall move from the predecessor TC to the rechartered TC. However, any Contributions made to the previous TC must be recontributed.

The rechartering may not change the IPR Mode of the TC; if a different IPR Mode is required then a new TC (with a unique name) must be formed.

A proposal to recharter the TC must be submitted to the TC Administrator, which proposal shall be in all respects the same as a proposal to form a new TC with the exception that the TC name and IPR Mode shall be the same as the predecessor TC. The TC Administrator shall reply to the proposers within 15 days, and if the proposal is complete shall schedule a ballot. Approval for rechartering shall require a Special Majority Vote of the TC being rechartered.

Upon approval of the ballot, the TC Administrator shall announce the newly rechartered TC in the same manner as a new TC Membership in the rechartered TC shall be determined in the same manner as for a new TC. The predecessor TC shall be closed at the end of the day prior to the date of the first meeting of the rechartered TC. The time period for determining Members’ Participation Obligation shall restart at the first meeting of the new TC.

2.13 TC Voting

TC votes require a Simple Majority Vote to pass, except as noted elsewhere in this Process. All TC ballots requiring a Special Majority Vote for approval must be conducted by the TC Administrator; the TC Chair shall notify the TC Administrator that a motion has been made which requires a Special Majority Vote, and the TC Administrator shall set up and conduct the ballot.

Eligibility: A Member of a TC must have voting rights to make or second a motion, and must have voting rights at the time a ballot is opened in order to vote on that ballot. Every Voting Member of a TC has a single vote. Organizations do not vote in TCs. Proxies shall not be allowed in TC voting.

Electronic Voting: TCs may conduct electronic ballots, either by using the TC’s general mail list or the publicly archived electronic voting functionality provided by OASIS. The minimum period allowed for electronic voting shall be seven days; the TC may specify a longer voting period for a particular electronic ballot. Any Specification Ballot conducted as an electronic ballot must permit each voter to choose “yes”, “no” or “abstain.”

A motion to open an electronic ballot must be made in a TC meeting unless the TC has adopted a standing rule to allow this motion to be made on the TC’s general email list. When such a rule has been adopted, motions made on the mail list must also be seconded and discussed on that list.

2.14 TC Subcommittees

The TC may by Resolution create a subcommittee (SC). The Resolution must be minuted, and must include the name, statement of purpose, list of deliverables, and name of the Chair of the SC. All of these items must fall within the Charter of the TC and conform to OASIS policy.

The deliverables of the SC are made only to the TC. Members of the SC must first be Members of the TC. Observers of a TC may be Observers of a SC, but may not become SC members without first becoming a Member of the TC. An SC member may resign from the SC and remain a Member of the TC.

2.15 Closing a TC

A TC may be closed by Full Majority Vote of the TC, by Resolution of the OASIS Board of Directors, or by the OASIS TC Administrator.

The TC Administrator must close a TC that has completed the deliverables listed in its Charter if the TC does not add new deliverables or that fails to elect a Chair for the period provided in Section 2.7.

The TC Administrator may close a TC that fails to conduct at least one Quorate Meeting or conduct any Specification Ballots during any six month period; whose membership falls below the Minimum Membership; which has not completed its deliverables within the schedule listed in its Charter; or which has failed to show progress towards achieving its purpose as defined by its Charter.

2.16 [reserved]

2.17 Intellectual Property Rights Procedures

The TC shall operate in accordance with the OASIS Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy.

Notices of Disclosed Claims, as defined in and required by the OASIS IPR Policy, shall be made by sending an email message to the TC Administrator, who shall post the disclosure on the TC’s web page and notify the TC via the TC general email list. The TC shall make no formal decision with regard to the applicability or validity of an IPR disclosure.

Contributions, as defined in the OASIS IPR Policy, shall be made by sending to the TC’s general email list either the contribution, or a notice that the contribution has been delivered to the TC’s document repository; a URL or other reference to the document is not sufficient. Written contributions must be converted to electronic format and delivered to the TC’s general email list or document repository. The TC is not required to acknowledge or use any Contribution.

2.18 Specification Quality

All documents and other files produced by the TC, including specifications at any level of approval, must use the OASIS file naming scheme, and must include the OASIS copyright notice. All document files must be written using the OASIS document authoring templates, which shall be published and maintained by the TC Administrator. The name of any specification may not include any trademarks or service marks not owned by OASIS.

A specification that is approved by the TC at the Public Review Draft, Committee Specification or OASIS Standard level must include a separate section, listing a set of numbered conformance clauses, to which any implementation of the specification must adhere in order to claim conformance to the specification (or any optional portion thereof).

A specification that is approved by the TC at any level must include a list of people who participated in the development of the specification. This list shall be initially compiled by the Chair, and any Member of the TC may add or remove their names from the list by request.

A specification that is approved by the TC at any level must clearly indicate whether each reference in the specification to a document or artifact is a Normative Reference.

Editable formats of all versions of TC documents must be delivered to the TC’s document repository. TC Working Drafts may be in any format (i.e. produced by any application). All TC-approved versions of documents (i.e. Committee Drafts, Public Review Drafts, and Committee Specifications) must be delivered to the TC’s document repository in the (1) editable source, (2) HTML or XHTML, and (3) PDF formats; and the TC must explicitly designate one of those delivered formats as the authoritative document. Any links published by the TC shall be to the HTML, XHTML and/or PDF formats stored using repositories and domain names owned by OASIS and as approved by the TC Administrator.

All normative computer language definitions that are part of the specification, such as XML instances, schemas and Java(TM) code, including fragments of such, must be well-formed and valid, and must be provided in separate plain text files. Each text file must be referenced from the specification. Where any definition in these separate files disagrees with the definition found in the specification, the definition in the separate file prevails.

A specification may be composed of any number of files of different types, though any such multi-part specification must have a single specification name and version number. Irrespective of the number and status of the constituent parts, the specification as a whole must be approved by a single TC ballot.

Any change made to a specification requires a new version or revision number, except for changes made to (a) the approval status, (b) the date, (c) the URIs of the specification as appropriate, (d) the running header/footer, and (e) any approved Designated Cross-Reference Changes, all of which must be made after the approval of the specification as a Committee Draft, Committee Specification, or OASIS Standard.

2.19 Designated Cross-Reference Changes

A TC wishing to update the Normative References or Non-Normative References in one of its OASIS specifications to reflect the outcome of a pending status change in another OASIS specification may do so, by adopting a “Designated Cross-Reference Change” as part of its Specification Approval Motion, which must include: (a) a list designating each of the other OASIS specifications (including version number) that are referenced by that Specification and whose cross-references should conditionally be updated; (b) a reference to this Section 2.19; and (c) an acknowledgement that approval and publication of the specification may be delayed by the Designated Cross-Reference Changes.

The text of a proposed Designated Cross-Reference Change to a specification shall only include for each cross-referenced specification:

• the current name, version and revision number;
• the current URI
• the expected approval status; and
• the expected approval dateof the cross-referenced specification.

The effectiveness of a proposed Designated Cross-Reference Change in a specification is conditioned on the resolution of the expected approval action for each cross-referenced specification. Therefore, if a Specification Approval Motion includes proposed Designated Cross-Reference Changes, the effectiveness of the subject specification’s approval will be delayed until the resolution of all other cross-referenced specification approval actions. The TC Administrator will withhold announcement and certification of the specification itself until all such cross-referenced resolutions are complete.

If the Specification Approval Motion (which includes Designated Cross-Reference Changes) passes, then, when the last cross-referenced approval is resolved, the final approved version will be published with all of its conditional descriptions of the cross-referenced specifications updated to reflect their correct status at that time.

Section 3. Standards Approval Process

3.1 Approval of a Committee Draft

The TC may at any stage during development of a specification approve the specification as a Committee Draft. The approval of a Committee Draft shall require a Full Majority Vote of the TC. The TC may approve a specification, revise it, and re-approve it any number of times as a Committee Draft.

3.2. Public Review

Before the TC can approve its Committee Draft as a Committee Specification the TC must conduct a public review of the work. The decision by the TC to submit the specification for public review requires a Full Majority Vote, and must be accompanied by a recommendation from the TC of external stakeholders who should be notified of the review. The Committee Draft approved to go to review shall be called a Public Review Draft. The public review must be announced by the TC Administrator to the OASIS Membership list and optionally on other public mail lists; the TC Administrator shall at the same time issue a call for IPR disclosure.

Comments from non-TC Members must be collected via the TC’s archived public comment facility; comments made through any other means shall not be accepted. The TC must acknowledge the receipt of each comment, track the comments received, and publish to its primary e-mail list the disposition of each comment at the end of the review period.

No changes may be made to the Public Review Draft during a review. If changes are required the specification must be withdrawn from review then resubmitted.

The TC may conduct any number of review cycles (i.e. approval to send a Committee Draft to Public Review, collecting comments, making edits to the specification, etc.). The first public review of a specification must take place for a minimum of 60 days, and any subsequent reviews must be held for a minimum of 15 days. Changes made to a specification after a review must be clearly identified in any subsequent review, and the subsequent review shall be limited in scope to changes made in the previous review. Before starting another review cycle the specification must be re-approved as a Committee Draft and then approved to go to public review by the TC.

If Substantive Changes are made to the specification after the public review, whether as a result of public review comments or from TC Member input, then the TC must conduct another review cycle. The specification may not be considered for approval by the TC as a Committee Specification until it has undergone a review cycle during which it has received no comments that result in Substantive Changes to the specification.

3.3 Approval of a Committee Specification

After the public review of a Public Review Draft the TC may approve the specification as a Committee Specification. If any comments have been received during the most recent Public Review period, that vote may not commence any earlier than 7 days after the last day of that Public Review. The approval of a Committee Specification shall require a Special Majority Vote. The TC Chair shall notify the TC Administrator that the TC is ready to vote on the approval of the specification, and provide to the TC Administrator the location of the editable versions of the specification files. The TC Administrator shall set up and conduct the ballot to approve the Committee Specification.

3.4 Approval of an OASIS Standard

Simultaneously with the approval of a Committee Specification or at a later date, and after three Statements of Use have been presented to the TC, a TC may resolve by Special Majority Vote to submit the Committee Specification to the Membership of OASIS for consideration as an OASIS Standard. Upon resolution of the TC to submit the specification, its Chair shall submit the following items to the TC Administrator:

(a) Links to the approved Committee Specification in the TC’s document repository, and any appropriate supplemental documentation for the specification, both of which must be written using the OASIS templates. The specification may not have been changed between its approval as a Committee Specification and its submission to OASIS for consideration as an OASIS Standard, except for the changes on the title page and running footer noting the approval status and date.

(b) The editable version of all files that are part of the Committee Specification;

(c) Certification by the TC that all schema and XML instances included in the specification, whether by inclusion or reference, including fragments of such, are well formed, and that all expressions are valid;

(d) A clear English-language summary of the specification;

(e) A statement regarding the relationship of this specification to similar work of other OASIS TCs or other standards developing organizations;

(f) The Statements of Use presented above;

(g) The beginning and ending dates of the public review(s), a pointer to the announcement of the public review(s), and a pointer to an account of each of the comments/issues raised during the public review period(s), along with its resolution;

(h) An account of and results of the voting to approve the specification as a Committee Specification, including the date of the ballot and a pointer to the ballot;

(i) An account of or pointer to votes and comments received in any earlier attempts to standardize substantially the same specification, together with the originating TC’s response to each comment;

(j) A pointer to the publicly visible comments archive for the originating TC;

(k) A pointer to any minority reports delivered by one or more Members who did not vote in favor of approving the Committee Specification, which report may include statements regarding why the member voted against the specification or that the member believes that Substantive Changes were made which have not gone through public review; or certification by the Chair that no minority reports exist.

The above submission must be made by the 15th of any month to the TC Administrator, who shall have until the end of the month to complete administrative processing and checking for completeness and correctness of the submission. If the submission is incomplete it shall be rejected but may be resubmitted at a later time.

The TC that originated the specification may resolve by Special Majority Vote to withdraw the proposed specification at any point after it is submitted to the TC Administrator for administrative processing and before the start of the voting period. No part of the submission may be changed or altered in any way after being submitted to the TC Administrator, including by Errata or corrigenda. Errata, corrigenda or other changes to a Committee Specification are not permitted after its submission for OASIS Standard approval; if changes are required the Committee Specification must be withdrawn by the TC, edited, re-approved as a Committee Specification, and then may be resubmitted as a proposed OASIS Standard. Proposed changes of any kind to a Committee Draft or Committee Specification may be maintained by a Technical Committee, but do not have any approval status until incorporated into a revised Committee Draft or Committee Specification.

The TC Administrator shall submit the proposal to the OASIS Membership by the first day of the following month. The first 15 days of that month shall be used by the membership to familiarize themselves with the submission. Voting shall start on the 16th of the month. The voting representatives of those OASIS Organizational Members who were members at the beginning of the familiarization period are eligible to vote, and must cast their ballots by the end of the month.

In votes upon proposed OASIS Standards, each OASIS Organizational Member shall be entitled to cast one vote. Votes shall be cast via the publicly archived electronic voting facility supplied by OASIS. Ballots shall be publicly visible during voting and may be changed up until the end of the voting period. The results of a vote on a proposed standard shall be provided to the membership and to the TC no later than seven days following the close of the voting period.

If at the end of the voting period at least 15 percent of the voting OASIS Membership has voted to approve the proposed standard, and if no votes have been cast to disapprove the proposed standard, it shall become an OASIS Standard immediately following the end of the voting period. If negative votes have been cast amounting to 25 percent or more of the votes cast, or if less than 15 percent of the voting OASIS Membership has cast positive votes to approve the proposed standard, the ballot is deemed to have failed and the submission fails.

However, if negative votes are cast amounting to less than 25 percent of the votes that have been cast, the TC shall be notified of the negative votes, after which the TC shall have 30 days to take one of the following actions by Resolution of a Special Majority Vote: (a) request the TC Administrator to approve the specification as submitted despite the negative votes; (b) withdraw the submission entirely; or (c) submit an amended specification, in which case the amended submission shall be considered as if it were a new submission, except that information regarding previous votes and any disposition of comments received in previous votes shall accompany the amended submission. If the originating TC upon notification of negative votes takes no formal action within the 30 days allocated for consideration of the results, then the specification shall not become an OASIS Standard.

Failure of a ballot for any reason shall not prevent a later version of the same specification from being submitted again as specified in this section.

3.5 Approved Errata

A TC may approve a set of Errata to an OASIS Standard as “Approved Errata” to the corrected specification by:

(a) Adopting the set of proposed corrections as a Committee Draft, in the form of a list of changes, and optionally accompanied by a copy of the original specification text marked to incorporate the proposed changes.

(b) Confirming by Full Majority Vote that the proposed corrections do not constitute a Substantive Change.

(c) Submitting the proposed corrections for a 15-day public review, and completing that review, pursuant to Section 3.2.

(d) After the public review, confirming the proposed corrections as Approved Errata by a Full Majority Vote.

Once approved, the Approved Errata shall be with the specification it corrects, in any publication of that specification. Disposition of Approved Errata must be identified in the subsequent Public Review Draft of the corrected specification.

A TC may not adopt Approved Errata to an OASIS Standard more than once in any consecutive six-month period.

Section 4. Board of Directors Involvement in the Standards Process

4.1 OASIS TC Administrator

The “OASIS TC Administrator,” as defined in Section 1 of this TC Process, shall act as the Technical Committee Liaison to the Board for the purpose of keeping the Board apprised of activities related to the TC Process. The specific duties of the TC Liaison shall be specified by the Board in consultation with the TC Administrator but shall, at a minimum, provide for the submission to the Board of a notice when a proposal has been received for the creation of a new TC and when a TC submits a Committee Specification to OASIS for consideration as an OASIS Standard. Such notice shall be delivered via email to the Board immediately upon the receipt of the submission by the TC Administrator. The TC Administrator shall also send a copy of proposals for the creation of new TCs to the Technical Advisory Board (TAB) for their comment.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this TC Process, upon majority vote of the members of the Board at a meeting thereof duly called and constituted, the creation of a new TC may be prevented, or a proposed OASIS Standard may be withheld from voting by OASIS membership; the proposal or the submission shall be returned to the proposers or the sponsoring TC for additional consideration, with an explanation of the reasons for such action.

The Board of Directors may amend this TC Process at any time and from time to time at its sole discretion.

4.2 Appeals

Any group of three or more Eligible Persons who believe that

• an action taken or not taken by or with respect to TCs, or
• actions taken or not taken by the TC Administrator,

is in violation of the procedures set forth in this TC Process or OASIS policies specified by the OASIS Board of Directors, may appeal such action or inaction.

Appellants shall file a complaint within 30 days of the action being appealed or at any time with respect to an inaction. The complaint shall state the nature of the objection(s), including any direct and material adverse effects upon the appellants; the section(s) of this TC Process or OASIS policies at issue; the actions or inactions at issue; and the specific remedial action(s) that would satisfy the appellants’ concerns. Previous efforts to resolve the objection(s) and the outcome of each shall be noted.

Appeals regarding actions or inactions of a TC must be made to the TC Administrator.

Appeals regarding actions or inactions of the TC Administrator must be made to the OASIS Board of Directors.

In the case of an appeal to the TC Administrator: within 15 days of receipt of the complaint, the TC Administrator shall provide a copy of the complaint to the TC; and within 30 days of such receipt, shall render a decision, with a copy to the TC.

In the case of an appeal to the OASIS Board of Directors: such appeal, in order to be valid, shall be sent to the board comment list (oasis-board-comment@lists.oasis-open.org) and the relevant TC(s). The Board shall hold a hearing (with the appellants invited) within 45 days of receipt of the appeal. The Board shall render its decision within 30 days. The decision of the Board shall be final.

The OASIS Board of Directors has the authority to effect such remedial action as may be necessary to remedy a complaint brought under this TC Process.

5.0. Application to Existing TCs

This TC Process applies to previously established TCs upon its adoption.

Dates Approved:  Thu, 2009-07-30 Effective:  Mon, 2008-09-01

1. INTRODUCTION
2. DEFINITIONS
3. CONFIDENTIALITY
4. TC FORMATION
5. CONTRIBUTIONS
6. LIMITED PATENT COVENANT FOR SPECIFICATION DEVELOPMENT
7. FEEDBACK
8. DISCLOSURE
9. TYPES OF OBLIGATIONS
10. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
11. WITHDRAWAL AND TERMINATION
12. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
13. GENERAL
14. NOTICES
Appendix A. Feedback License
Appendix B. Copyright License Grant

1. INTRODUCTION

The OASIS Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy governs the treatment of intellectual property in the production of deliverables by OASIS Open (hereafter referred to as OASIS).

This Policy applies to all members of OASIS and their Affiliates (as defined below). The OASIS Board of Directors may amend this Policy at any time in its sole discretion. In the event of such change to this Policy, the Board will provide instructions for transition of membership and Technical Committees to the new Policy; however, no amendment to this Policy will be effective in less than 60 calendar days from the date that written notice of such amendment is given to the Member at its address of record with OASIS.

2. DEFINITIONS

Each capitalized term within this document shall have the meaning provided below:

1. Affiliate – any entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, another entity, so long as such control exists. In the event that such control ceases to exist, such Affiliate will be deemed to have withdrawn from OASIS pursuant to the terms set forth in the withdrawal provisions in Section 11. For purposes of this definition, with respect to a business entity, control means direct or indirect beneficial ownership of or the right to exercise (i) greater than fifty percent (50%) of the voting stock or equity in an entity; or (ii) greater than fifty percent (50%) of the ownership interest representing the right to make the decisions for the subject entity in the event that there is no voting stock or equity.
2. Beneficiary – any organization, including its Affiliates as defined in this Policy, or individual who benefits from the OASIS Non-Assertion Covenant with respect to Essential Claims from Obligated Parties for a particular OASIS Final Deliverable. A Beneficiary need not be an OASIS member.
3. Continuing Licensing or Non-Assertion Obligation – a licensing or non-assertion obligation, of the types defined by Section 9 of this Policy, which survives a TC Party’s withdrawal from an OASIS Technical Committee.
4. Contribution – any material submitted to an OASIS Technical Committee by a TC Member in writing or electronically, whether in an in-person meeting or in any electronic conference or mailing list maintained by OASIS for the OASIS Technical Committee and which is or was proposed for inclusion in an OASIS Deliverable.
5. Contribution Obligation – a licensing or non-assertion requirement, as described in Section 10 that results from making a Contribution as described in Section 9.1.
6. Contributor – a TC Party on whose behalf a Contribution is made by the TC Party’s TC Member.
7. Covered Product – includes only those specific portions of a product (hardware, software or combinations thereof) that (a) implement and are compliant with all Normative Portions of an OASIS Final Deliverable produced by a Non-Assertion Mode TC that must be implemented to comply with such deliverable, and (b) to the extent that the product implements one or more optional portions of such deliverable, those portions that implement and are compliant with all Normative Portions that must be implemented to comply with such optional portions of the deliverable.
8. Eligible Person – one of a class of individuals that include: persons holding individual memberships in OASIS, employees or designees of organizational members of OASIS, and such other persons as may be designated by the OASIS Board of Directors.
9. Essential Claims – those claims in any patent or patent application in any jurisdiction in the world that would necessarily be infringed by an implementation of those portions of a particular OASIS Final Deliverable created within the scope of the TC charter in effect at the time such deliverable was developed. A claim is necessarily infringed hereunder only when it is not possible to avoid infringing it because there is no non-infringing alternative for implementing the Normative Portions of that particular OASIS Final Deliverable. Existence of a non-infringing alternative shall be judged based on the state of the art at the time the OASIS Final Deliverable is approved.
10. Feedback – any written or electronic input provided to an OASIS Technical Committee by individuals who are not TC Members and which is proposed for inclusion in an OASIS Deliverable. All such Feedback must be made under the terms of the Feedback License (Appendix A).
11. IPR Mode – an element of an OASIS TC charter, which specifies the type of licenses or non-assertion covenants required for any Essential Claims associated with the output produced by a given Technical Committee. This is further described in Section 4.
12. Licensed Products – include only those specific portions of a Licensee’s products (hardware, software or combinations thereof) that (a) implement and are compliant with all Normative Portions of an OASIS Final Deliverable that must be implemented to comply with such deliverable, and (b) to the extent that the Licensee’s products implement one or more optional portions of such deliverable, those portions of Licensee’s products that implement and are compliant with all Normative Portions that must be implemented to comply with such optional portions of the deliverable.
13. Licensee – any organization, including its Affiliates as defined in this Policy, or individual that licenses Essential Claims from Obligated Parties for a particular OASIS Final Deliverable. Licensees need not be OASIS members.
14. Normative Portion – a portion of an OASIS Final Deliverable that must be implemented to comply with such deliverable. If such deliverable defines optional parts, Normative Portions include those portions of the optional part that must be implemented if the implementation is to comply with such optional part. Examples and/or reference implementations and other specifications or standards that were developed outside the TC and which are referenced in the body of a particular OASIS Final Deliverable that may be included in such deliverable are not Normative Portions.
15. Non-Assertion Mode TC – an OASIS TC that is chartered under the Non-Assertion IPR Mode described in Section 4.
16. OASIS Deliverable – a work product developed by a Technical Committee within the scope of its charter, such as a specification, white paper, technical note, or implementation guideline. An OASIS Deliverable may or may not include Normative Portions.
17. OASIS Draft Deliverable – an OASIS Deliverable that has not been designated and approved by a Technical Committee as an OASIS Final Deliverable.
18. OASIS Final Deliverable – an OASIS Deliverable that has been designated and approved by a Technical Committee as an OASIS Final Deliverable.
19. OASIS Party – a member of OASIS (i.e., an entity that has executed an OASIS Membership Agreement) and its Affiliates.
20. OASIS TC Administrator – the person(s) appointed to represent OASIS in administrative matters relating to TCs as provided by the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
21. OASIS Technical Committee (TC) – a group of Eligible Persons formed, and whose actions are conducted, according to the provisions of the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
22. OASIS Technical Committee Process – the “OASIS OPEN TECHNICAL COMMITTEE PROCESS”, as from time to time amended, which describes the operation of Technical Committees at OASIS.
23. Obligated Party – a TC Party that incurs a licensing or non-assertion obligation for its Essential Claims by either a Contribution Obligation or a Participation Obligation.
24. Participation Obligation – a licensing or non-assertion requirement, as described in Section 10, that arises from membership in an OASIS Technical Committee, as described in Section 9.2.
25. RAND Mode TC – an OASIS TC that is chartered under the RAND IPR Mode described in Section 4.
26. RF Mode TC – an OASIS TC that is chartered under one of the RF IPR Modes described in Section 4.
27. TC Member – an Eligible Person who has completed the requirements to join a TC during the period in which s/he maintains his or her membership as described by the OASIS Technical Committee Process. A TC Member may represent the interests of a TC Party in the TC.
28. TC Party – an OASIS Party that is, or is represented by, a TC Member in the relevant Technical Committee.

3. CONFIDENTIALITY

Neither Contributions nor Feedback that are subject to any requirement of confidentiality may be considered in any part of the OASIS Technical Committee Process. All Contributions and Feedback will therefore be deemed to have been submitted on a non-confidential basis, notwithstanding any markings or representations to the contrary, and OASIS shall have no obligation to treat any such material as confidential.

4. TC FORMATION

At the time a TC is chartered, the proposal to form the TC must specify the IPR Mode under which the Technical Committee will operate. This Policy describes the following IPR Modes:

1. RAND – requires all Obligated Parties to license their Essential Claims using the RAND licensing elements described in Section 10.1.
2. RF on RAND Terms – requires all Obligated Parties to license their Essential Claims using the RF licensing elements described in Sections 10.2.1 and 10.2.2.
3. RF on Limited Terms – requires all Obligated Parties to license their Essential Claims using the RF licensing elements described in Sections 10.2.1 and 10.2.3.
4. Non-Assertion – requires all Obligated Parties to provide an OASIS Non-Assertion Covenant as described in Section 10.3.

A TC may not change its IPR Mode without closing and submitting a new charter.

5. CONTRIBUTIONS

5.1 General

At the time of submission of a Contribution for consideration by an OASIS Technical Committee, each named co-Contributor (and its respective Affiliates) is deemed to agree to the following terms and conditions and to make the following representations (based on the actual knowledge of the TC Member(s) making the Contribution, with respect to items 3 – 5 below, inclusive):

1. OASIS has no duty to publish or otherwise use or disseminate any Contribution.
2. OASIS may reference the name(s) of the Contributor(s) for the purpose of acknowledging and publishing the Contribution.
3. The Contribution properly identifies any holders of copyright interests in the Contribution.
4. No information in the Contribution is confidential, and OASIS may freely disclose any information in the Contribution.
5. There are no limits to the Contributor’s ability to make the grants, acknowledgments, and agreements required by this Policy with respect to such Contribution.

5.2 Copyright Licenses

1. To the extent that a Contributor holds a copyright interest in its Contribution, such Contributor grants to OASIS a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide copyright license, with the right to directly and indirectly sublicense, to copy, publish, and distribute the Contribution in any way, and to prepare derivative works that are based on or incorporate all or part of the Contribution solely for the purpose of developing and promoting the OASIS Deliverable and enabling (subject to the rights of the owners of any Essential Claims) the implementation of the same by Licensees or Beneficiaries.
2. To the extent that a Contribution is subject to copyright by parties that are not Contributors, the submitter(s) must provide OASIS with a signed “Copyright License Grant” (Appendix B) from each such copyright owner whose permission would be required to permit OASIS to exercise the rights described in Appendix B.

5.3 Trademarks

1. Trademarks or service marks that are not owned by OASIS shall not be used by OASIS, except as approved by the OASIS Board of Directors, to refer to work conducted at OASIS, including the use in the name of an OASIS TC, an OASIS Deliverable, or incorporated into such work.
2. No OASIS Party may use an OASIS trademark or service mark in connection with an OASIS Deliverable or otherwise, except in compliance with such license and usage guidelines as OASIS may from time to time require.

6. LIMITED PATENT COVENANT FOR DELIVERABLE DEVELOPMENT

To permit TC Members and their TC Parties to develop implementations of OASIS Draft Deliverables being developed by a TC, each TC Party represented by a TC Member in a TC, at such time that the TC Member joins the TC, grants to each other TC Party in that TC automatically and without further action on its part, and on an ongoing basis, a limited covenant not to assert any Essential Claims required to implement such OASIS Draft Deliverable and covering making or using (but not selling or otherwise distributing) an implementation of such OASIS Draft Deliverable, solely for the purpose of testing and developing such deliverable and only until either the OASIS Draft Deliverable is approved as an OASIS Final Deliverable or the Technical Committee is closed.

7. FEEDBACK

1. OASIS encourages Feedback to OASIS Deliverables from both OASIS Parties who are not TC Parties and the public at large. Feedback will be accepted only under the “Feedback License” (Appendix A).
2. OASIS will require that submitters of Feedback agree to the terms of the Feedback License before transmitting submitted Feedback to the Technical Committee.

8. DISCLOSURE

1. Disclosure Obligations – Each TC Party shall disclose to OASIS in writing the existence of all patents and/or patent applications owned or claimed by such TC Party that are actually known to the TC Member directly participating in the TC, and which such TC Member believes may contain any Essential Claims or claims that might become Essential Claims upon approval of an OASIS Final Deliverable as such document then exists (collectively, “Disclosed Claims”).
2. Disclosure of Third Party Patent Claims – Each TC Party whose TC Members become aware of patents or patent applications owned or claimed by a third party that contain claims that might become Essential Claims upon approval of an OASIS Final Deliverable should disclose them, provided that such disclosure is not prohibited by any confidentiality obligation binding upon them. It is understood that any TC Party that discloses third party patent claims to OASIS does not take a position on the essentiality or relevance of the third party claims to the OASIS Final Deliverable in its then-current form.

   In both cases (Sections 8.1 and 8.2), it is understood and agreed that such TC Party(s)’ TC Member(s) do not represent that they know of all potentially pertinent claims of patents and patent applications owned or claimed by the TC Party or any third parties. For the avoidance of doubt, while the disclosure obligation under Sections 8.1 and 8.2 applies directly to all TC Parties, this obligation is triggered based on the actual knowledge of the TC Party’s TC Members regarding the TC Party’s patents or patent applications that may contain Essential Claims.

3. Disclosure Requests – Disclosure requests will be included as described in Section 12 with all public review copies of OASIS Final Deliverables. All OASIS Parties are encouraged to review such OASIS Final Deliverables and make appropriate disclosures.
4. Limitations – A disclosure request and the obligation to disclose set forth above do not imply any obligations on the recipients of disclosure requests (collectively or individually) or on any OASIS Party to perform or conduct patent searches. Nothing in this Policy nor the act of receiving a disclosure request for an OASIS Final Deliverable, regardless of whether it is responded to, shall be construed or otherwise interpreted as any kind of express or implied representation with respect to the existence or non-existence of patents or patent applications which contain Essential Claims, other than that such TC Party has acted in good faith with respect to its disclosure obligations.
5. Information – Any disclosure of Disclosed Claims shall include (a) in the case of issued patents and published patent applications, the patent or patent application publication number, the associated country and, as reasonably practicable, the relevant portions of the applicable OASIS Final Deliverable; and (b) in the case of unpublished patent applications, the existence of the unpublished application and, as reasonably practicable, the relevant portions of the applicable OASIS Final Deliverable.

9. TYPES OF OBLIGATIONS

9.1 Contribution Obligation

A TC Party has a Contribution Obligation, which arises at the time the Contribution is submitted to a TC, to license or provide under non-assertion covenants as appropriate for the IPR mode described in Section 10, any claims under its patents or patent applications that become Essential Claims when such Contribution is incorporated (either in whole or in part) into the OASIS Final Deliverable produced by the TC that received the Contribution.

9.2 Participation Obligation

A TC Party has a Participation Obligation to license or provide under non-assertion covenant as appropriate for the IPR mode, as described in Section 10, any claims under its patents or patent applications that would be Essential Claims in the then current OASIS Draft Deliverable, if that draft subsequently becomes an OASIS Final Deliverable, even if the TC Party is not a Contributor, when all of the following conditions are met:

• An OASIS Final Deliverable is finally approved that incorporates such OASIS Draft Deliverable, either in whole or in part;
• The TC Party has been on, or has been represented by TC Member(s) on such TC for a total of sixty (60) calendar days, which need not be continuous;
• The TC Party is on, or is represented by TC Member(s) on such TC after a period of seven (7) calendar days after the ballot to approve such OASIS Draft Deliverable has elapsed.

For organizational TC Parties, the membership threshold is met by one or more employees or organizational designees of such Parties having been a TC Member on any 60 calendar days, although any given calendar day is only one day of membership, regardless of the number of participants on that day.

Each time a new OASIS Draft Deliverable is approved by the TC, the Participation Obligation adjusts to encompass the material in the latest OASIS Draft Deliverable seven days after such draft has been approved for publication.

10. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

10.1 RAND Mode TC Requirements

For an OASIS Final Deliverable developed by a RAND Mode TC, except where a Licensee has a separate, signed agreement under which the Essential Claims are licensed to such Licensee on more favorable terms and conditions than set forth in this section (in which case such separate signed agreement shall supersede this Limited Patent License), each Obligated Party in such TC hereby covenants that, upon request and subject to Section 11, it will grant to any OASIS Party or third party: a nonexclusive, worldwide, non-sublicensable, perpetual patent license (or an equivalent non-assertion covenant) under its Essential Claims covered by its Contribution Obligations or Participation Obligations on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms to make, have made, use, market, import, offer to sell, and sell, and to otherwise directly or indirectly distribute Licensed Products that implement such OASIS Final Deliverable. Such license need not extend to features of a Licensed Product that are not required to comply with the Normative Portions of such OASIS Final Deliverable. For the sake of clarity, the rights set forth above include the right to directly or indirectly authorize a third party to make unmodified copies of the Licensee’s Licensed Products and to license (optionally under the third party’s license) the Licensee’s Licensed Products within the scope of, and subject to the terms of, the Obligated Party’s license.

At the election of the Obligated Party, such license may include a term requiring the Licensee to grant a reciprocal license to its Essential Claims (if any) covering the same OASIS Final Deliverable. Such term may require the Licensee to grant licenses to all implementers of such deliverable. The Obligated Party may also include a term providing that such license may be suspended with respect to the Licensee if that Licensee first sues the Obligated Party for infringement by the Obligated Party of any of the Licensee’s Essential Claims covering the same OASIS Final Deliverable.

License terms that are fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory beyond those specifically mentioned above are left to the Licensees and Obligated Parties involved.

10.2 RF Mode TC Requirements

10.2.1 Common

For an OASIS Final Deliverable developed by an RF Mode TC, except where a Licensee has a separate, signed agreement under which the Essential Claims are licensed to such Licensee on more favorable terms and conditions than set forth in this section (in which case such separate signed agreement shall supersede this Limited Patent License), each Obligated Party in such TC hereby covenants that, upon request and subject to Section 11, it will grant to any OASIS Party or third party: a nonexclusive, worldwide, non-sublicensable, perpetual patent license (or an equivalent non-assertion covenant) under its Essential Claims covered by its Contribution Obligations or Participation Obligations without payment of royalties or fees, and subject to the applicable Section 10.2.2 or 10.2.3, to make, have made, use, market, import, offer to sell, and sell, and to otherwise distribute Licensed Products directly or indirectly that implement such OASIS Final Deliverable. Such license need not extend to features of a Licensed Product that are not required to comply with the Normative Portions of such OASIS Final Deliverable. For the sake of clarity, the rights set forth above include the right to directly or indirectly authorize a third party to make unmodified copies of the Licensee’s Licensed Products and to license (optionally under the third party’s license) the Licensee’s Licensed Products, within the scope of, and subject to the terms of, the Obligated Party’s license.

At the election of the Obligated Party, such license may include a term requiring the Licensee to grant a reciprocal license to its Essential Claims (if any) covering the same OASIS Final Deliverable. Such term may require the Licensee to grant licenses to all implementers of such deliverable. The Obligated Party may also include a term providing that such license may be suspended with respect to the Licensee if that Licensee first sues the Obligated Party for infringement by the Obligated Party of any of the Licensee’s Essential Claims covering the same OASIS Final Deliverable.

10.2.2 RF on RAND Terms

With TCs operating under the RF on RAND Terms IPR Mode, license terms that are fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory beyond those specifically mentioned in Section 10.2.1 may also be included, and such additional RAND terms are left to the Licensees and Obligated Parties involved.

10.2.3 RF on Limited Terms

With TCs operating under the RF on Limited Terms IPR Mode, Obligated Parties may not impose any further conditions or restrictions beyond those specifically mentioned in Section 10.2.1 on the use of any technology or intellectual property rights, or other restrictions on behavior of the Licensee, but may include reasonable, customary terms relating to operation or maintenance of the license relationship, including the following: choice of law and dispute resolution.

10.3. Non-Assertion Mode TC Requirements

10.3.1. For an OASIS Final Deliverable developed by a Non-Assertion Mode TC, each Obligated Party in such TC hereby makes the following world-wide “OASIS Non-Assertion Covenant”.

Each Obligated Party in a Non-Assertion Mode TC irrevocably covenants that, subject to Section 10.3.2 and Section 11 of the OASIS IPR Policy, it will not assert any of its Essential Claims covered by its Contribution Obligations or Participation Obligations against any OASIS Party or third party for making, having made, using, marketing, importing, offering to sell, selling, and otherwise distributing Covered Products that implement an OASIS Final Deliverable developed by that TC.

10.3.2. The covenant described in Section 10.3.1 may be suspended or revoked by the Obligated Party with respect to any OASIS Party or third party if that OASIS Party or third party asserts an Essential Claim in a suit first brought against, or attempts in writing to assert an Essential Claim against, a Beneficiary with respect to a Covered Product that implements the same OASIS Final Deliverable.

11. WITHDRAWAL AND TERMINATION

A TC Party may withdraw from a TC at any time by notifying the OASIS TC Administrator in writing of such decision to withdraw. Withdrawal shall be deemed effective when such written notice is sent.

11.1 Withdrawal from a Technical Committee

A TC Party that withdraws from an OASIS Technical Committee shall have Continuing Licensing or Non-Assertion Obligations based on its Contribution Obligations and Participation Obligations as follows:

1. A TC Party that has incurred neither a Contribution Obligation nor a Participation Obligation prior to withdrawal has no licensing or non-assertion obligations for OASIS Final Deliverable(s) originating from that OASIS TC.
2. A TC Party that has incurred a Contribution Obligation prior to withdrawal continues to be subject to its Contribution Obligation.
3. A TC Party that has incurred a Participation Obligation prior to withdrawal continues to be subject to its Participation Obligation but only with respect to OASIS Draft Deliverable(s) approved more than seven (7) calendar days prior to its withdrawal.

11.2 Termination of an OASIS Membership

An OASIS Party that terminates its OASIS membership (voluntarily or involuntarily) is deemed to withdraw from all TCs in which that OASIS Party has TC Member(s) representing it, and such OASIS Party remains subject to Continuing Licensing or Non-Assertion Obligations for each such TC based on its Obligated Party status in that TC on the date that its membership termination becomes effective.

12. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

All OASIS Deliverables are provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, and OASIS, as well as all OASIS Parties and TC Members, expressly disclaim any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular or intended purpose, accuracy, completeness, non-infringement of third party rights, or any other warranty.

In no event shall OASIS or any of its constituent parts (including, but not limited to, the OASIS Board of Directors), be liable to any other person or entity for any loss of profits, loss of use, direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, or special damages, whether under contract, tort, warranty, or otherwise, arising in any way out of this Policy, whether or not such party had advance notice of the possibility of such damages.

In addition, except for grossly negligent or intentionally fraudulent acts, OASIS Parties and TC Members (or their representatives), shall not be liable to any other person or entity for any loss of profits, loss of use, direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, or special damages, whether under contract, tort, warranty, or otherwise, arising in any way out of this Policy, whether or not such party had advance notice of the possibility of such damages.

OASIS assumes no responsibility to compile, confirm, update or make public any assertions of Essential Claims or other intellectual property rights that might be infringed by an implementation of an OASIS Deliverable.

If OASIS at any time refers to any such assertions by any owner of such claims, OASIS takes no position as to the validity or invalidity of such assertions, or that all such assertions that have or may be made have been referred to.

13. GENERAL

13.1. By ratifying this document, OASIS warrants that it will not inhibit the traditional open and free access to OASIS documents for which license and right have been assigned or obtained according to the procedures set forth in this section. This warranty is perpetual and will not be revoked by OASIS or its successors or assigns as to any already adopted OASIS Final Deliverable; provided, however, that neither OASIS nor its assigns shall be obligated to:

1. 13.1.1. Perpetually maintain its existence; nor
2. 13.1.2. Provide for the perpetual existence of a website or other public means of accessing OASIS Final Deliverables; nor
3. 13.1.3. Maintain the public availability of any given OASIS Final Deliverable that has been retired or superseded, or which is no longer being actively utilized in the marketplace.

13.2. Where any copyrights, trademarks, patents, patent applications, or other proprietary rights are known, or claimed, with respect to any OASIS Deliverable and are formally brought to the attention of the OASIS TC Administrator, OASIS shall consider appropriate action, which may include disclosure of the existence of such rights, or claimed rights. The OASIS Technical Committee Process shall prescribe the method for providing this information.

1. 13.2.1. OASIS disclaims any responsibility for identifying the existence of or for evaluating the applicability of any claimed copyrights, trademarks, patents, patent applications, or other rights, and will make no assurances on the validity or scope of any such rights.
2. 13.2.2. Where the OASIS TC Administrator is formally notified of rights, or claimed rights under Section 8.8 with respect to entities other than Obligated Parties, the OASIS President shall attempt to obtain from the claimant of such rights a written assurance that any Licensee will be able to obtain the right to utilize, use, and distribute the technology or works when implementing, using, or distributing technology based upon the specific OASIS Final Deliverable (or, in the case of an OASIS Draft Deliverable, that any Licensee will then be able to obtain such a right) under terms that are consistent with this Policy. All such information will be made available to the TC that produced such deliverable, but the failure to obtain such written assurance shall not prevent votes from being conducted, except that the OASIS TC Administrator may defer approval for a reasonable period of time where a delay may facilitate the obtaining of such assurances. The results will, however, be recorded by the OASIS TC Administrator, and made available to the public. The OASIS Board of Directors may also direct that a summary of the results be included in any published OASIS Final Deliverable.
3. 13.2.3. Except for the rights expressly provided herein, neither OASIS nor any OASIS Party grants or receives, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any rights under any patents or other intellectual property rights of the OASIS Party, OASIS, any other OASIS Party, or any third party.

13.3. Solely for purposes of Section 365(n) of Title 11, United States Bankruptcy Code, and any equivalent law in any foreign jurisdiction, the promises under Section 10 will be treated as if they were a license and any OASIS Party or third-party may elect to retain its rights under this promise if Obligated Party, as a debtor in possession, or a bankruptcy trustee in a case under the United States Bankruptcy Code, rejects any obligations stated in Section 10.

14. NOTICES

14.1 Documents

Any document produced by an OASIS Technical Committee shall include the following notices replacing [copyright year] with the year or range of years of publication (bracketed language, other than the date, need only appear in OASIS Final Deliverable documents that contain Normative Portions):

Copyright © OASIS Open [copyright year]. All Rights Reserved.

All capitalized terms in the following text have the meanings assigned to them in the OASIS Intellectual Property Rights Policy (the “OASIS IPR Policy”). The full Policy may be found at the OASIS website.

This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published, and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this section are included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, including by removing the copyright notice or references to OASIS, except as needed for the purpose of developing any document or deliverable produced by an OASIS Technical Committee (in which case the rules applicable to copyrights, as set forth in the OASIS IPR Policy, must be followed) or as required to translate it into languages other than English.

The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked by OASIS or its successors or assigns.

This document and the information contained herein is provided on an “AS IS” basis and OASIS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY OWNERSHIP RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

[OASIS requests that any OASIS Party or any other party that believes it has patent claims that would necessarily be infringed by implementations of this OASIS Final Deliverable, to notify OASIS TC Administrator and provide an indication of its willingness to grant patent licenses to such patent claims in a manner consistent with the IPR Mode of the OASIS Technical Committee that produced this deliverable.]

[OASIS invites any party to contact the OASIS TC Administrator if it is aware of a claim of ownership of any patent claims that would necessarily be infringed by implementations of this OASIS Final Deliverable by a patent holder that is not willing to provide a license to such patent claims in a manner consistent with the IPR Mode of the OASIS Technical Committee that produced this OASIS Final Deliverable. OASIS may include such claims on its website, but disclaims any obligation to do so.]

[OASIS takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any intellectual property or other rights that might be claimed to pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in this OASIS Final Deliverable or the extent to which any license under such rights might or might not be available; neither does it represent that it has made any effort to identify any such rights. Information on OASIS’ procedures with respect to rights in any document or deliverable produced by an OASIS Technical Committee can be found on the OASIS website. Copies of claims of rights made available for publication and any assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this OASIS Final Deliverable, can be obtained from the OASIS TC Administrator. OASIS makes no representation that any information or list of intellectual property rights will at any time be complete, or that any claims in such list are, in fact, Essential Claims.]

14.2 Other Deliverables

Other OASIS Deliverables may include just the copyright notice as follows replacing [copyright year] with the year or year range of publication:

Copyright © OASIS Open [copyright year]. All Rights Reserved.

14.3 Additional Copyright Notices

Additional copyright notices identifying Contributors may also be included with the OASIS copyright notice.

Appendix A. Feedback License

The “OASIS ___________ Technical Committee” is developing technology (the “OASIS ____________ Deliverable”) as defined by its charter and welcomes input, suggestions and other feedback (“Feedback”) on the OASIS ____________ Deliverable. By the act of submitting, you (on behalf of yourself if you are an individual, and your organization and its Affiliates if you are providing Feedback on behalf of that organization) agree to the following terms (all capitalized terms are defined in the OASIS Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”) Policy, see http://www.oasis-open.org/who/intellectualproperty.php):

1. Copyright – You (and your represented organization and its Affiliates) grant to OASIS a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide copyright license, with the right to directly and indirectly sublicense, to copy, publish, and distribute the Feedback in any way, and to prepare derivative works that are based on or incorporate all or part of the Feedback, solely for the purpose of developing and promoting the OASIS Deliverable and enabling the implementation of the same by Licensees or Beneficiaries.
2. Essential Claims – You covenant to grant a patent license or offer an OASIS Non-Assertion Covenant as appropriate under any patent claims that you (or your represented organization or its Affiliates) own or control that become Essential Claims because of the incorporation of such Feedback into the OASIS Final Deliverable, on terms consistent with Section 10 of the OASIS IPR Policy for the IPR Mode specified in the charter of this OASIS Technical Committee.
3. Right to Provide – You warrant to the best of your knowledge that you have rights to provide this Feedback, and if you are providing Feedback on behalf of an organization, you warrant that you have the rights to provide Feedback on behalf of your organization and to bind your organization and its Affiliates to the licensing or non-assertion obligations provided above.
4. Confidentiality – You further warrant that no information in this Feedback is confidential, and that OASIS may freely disclose any information in the Feedback.
5. No requirement to Use – You also acknowledge that OASIS is not required to incorporate your Feedback into any version of this OASIS Deliverable.

Assent of Feedback Provider:
By: _________________________ (Signature)
Name: _______________________
Title: ________________________ Organization: ________________
Date: ________________________ Email: _______________________

Appendix B. Copyright License Grant

The undersigned, on its own behalf and on behalf of its represented organization and its Affiliates, if any, with respect to their collective copyright ownership rights in the Contribution “__________________,” grants to OASIS a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide copyright license, with the right to directly and indirectly sublicense, to copy, publish, and distribute the Contribution in any way, and to prepare derivative works that are based on or incorporate all or part of the Contribution solely for the purpose of developing and promoting the OASIS Deliverable and enabling the implementation of the same by Licensees or Beneficiaries (all above capitalized terms are defined in the OASIS Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”) Policy, see http://www.oasis-open.org/who/intellectualproperty.php).

Assent of the Undersigned:
By: __________________________ (Signature)
Name: _______________________
Title: ________________________ Organization: ________________
Date: ________________________ Email: _______________________
Dates Approved:  Tue, 2009-05-19 Effective:  Tue, 2009-08-04

Table of contents

Organizational Liaisons Establishing org-to-org liaisons Representative Guidelines Policy for submitting OASIS work to other organizations TC Liaisons Liaisons to the TC Fee-waived membership grants

Organizational Liaisons

Establishing org-to-org liaisons

A liaison relationship is defined as OASIS obtaining membership in another organization, or entering into any other liaison relationship or joint agreement such as an MoU, Letter of Intent, Cooperation Agreement, etc. (Other organizations seeking membership in OASIS under standard OASIS membership policies is not covered by this policy.)

Only the OASIS President has the authority to negotiate a liaison relationship with another organization.

The request to establish a liaison or membership with another organization should be submitted to the President, and may originate with the request from the external organization, the OASIS Board of Directors, a Technical Committee (TC), the Technical Advisory Board (TAB), or OASIS staff. The request to the President should include the following:

• Who is the other organization, what do they do, and what is the nature of the relationship suggested? (e.g. is it suggested that OASIS join the other organization and at what level, or vice versa.)
• What are the benefits to OASIS of this relationship? What are the goals of OASIS in the relationship?
• Which particular activities (technical committees, member sections, etc.) at OASIS would be affected by the relationship? What effect will it have on them, and what level of involvement should be expected from them?
• What are the benefits to the other organization of this relationship? What are the goals of the other organization in the relationship?
• What is the risk of negative impact on OASIS?
• What liaison representation would OASIS be expected to send?
• What are the costs, obligations, and responsibilities to OASIS and/or its TCs?

The OASIS President will, based on the above items, decide whether to establish the liaison relationship, and what the nature of the relationship should be. The OASIS President will submit this decision and the justification of the decision (including a summary document with the answers to the above questions) to the Board of Directors for their review and comment. If, after consultation with the Board, the President approves establishment of the Liaison, and if the Board of Directors approves the MoU, Letter of Intent, Cooperation Agreement, Membership Agreement, or any other document that the President must sign in order for the relationship to be established, the OASIS President and staff will then proceed to establish the relationship. Once the relationship is established, a liaison representative to the other organization will be selected as required, and tasked as outlined in section below.

The OASIS President will provide a quarterly status report to the OASIS Board including an update on all the information mentioned above for each liaison. The report will include a detailed plan of actions for at least the top five inter-organization liaisons that involve OASIS resource commitments (OASIS staff, members, etc.).

Representative Guidelines

In most cases where OASIS has established a liaison relationship with another organization OASIS will have the opportunity to send technical or liaison representatives to that other organization. As the person is representing OASIS, he or she should be selected by OASIS and should be given specific instructions so that OASIS will gain the most benefit from the representation. (For the case of a person representing a single TC, see the section below on TC liaisons.)

Selection of the representative and definition of scope/mission

The OASIS representative will be selected and given a scope/mission as follows:

1. The OASIS President establishes the liaison relationship as described above, and determines that a representative is required to maintain the relationship.
2. The OASIS President asks OASIS staff, Board, or TAB to make recommendations regarding the qualifications of the representative and to suggest possible candidates. The person could be OASIS staff, a Board Member, a TAB member, a TC chair, any other OASIS member, or other designated person.
3. The TAB or OASIS management drafts the scope/mission of the liaison representative. The assignment scope should include such things as
   1. Length of assignment
   2. Frequency of assignment activities (conference calls, meetings, etc.)
   3. Who is responsible for any travel expenses (OASIS or the representative’s company)
   4. What technical agenda the representative should pursue (are they expected to influence the other organization’s work, provide info on OASIS work, or just report on the activities of the other organization)
   5. What, if any, decisions the person is allowed to make
   6. What information they report and to whom
   7. Who at OASIS do they report to and who provides them with direction and feedback
4. The TAB or OASIS management recommends the person to the OASIS Board.
5. The Board approves the recommendation.
6. OASIS management then extends an invitation to the approved liaison representative.

Managing the Representative

In order for OASIS to get the most benefit from having a representative to another organization, the representative should be expected to report back to OASIS so that having a liaison representative results in two-way communication.

OASIS management will manage the representative to ensure that he or she is properly representing OASIS, and that OASIS is receiving regular reports from the other organization. OASIS management should speak at least monthly with the representative.

The representative will also be expected to communicate regularly with OASIS TCs and/or member sections that are effected by the liaison relationship.

Policy for submitting OASIS Standards for adoption by other organizations

OASIS members may wish to have OASIS Standards submitted to other standards organizations for approval under their separate processes. The following provisions govern these submissions. Terms defined in the OASIS TC Process are used here as defined therein.

1. Submission requirements.

   Submissions of OASIS Standards to other standards organizations may be made if all of the following requirements are satisfied. The OASIS Board of Directors must approve any deviations from these requirements.

   1. The proposed submission is an OASIS Standard.
   2. The receiving standards organization is a de jure standards authority, preferably global in geographic scope.
   3. The successful completion of an OASIS-organized public interoperability demonstration between at least three independent implementations conducted in accordance with the OASIS InterOp Demonstration Guidelines.
   4. A written submission request to submit the OASIS Standard, as specified in Section 2, is submitted to the President by any one of the parties described in the following options:
      1. Open TC. If the Technical Committee that originally developed the OASIS Standard is open (not closed), there are the following two options:
         1. If (1) there is a Member Section with which the TC is affiliated or was so affiliated at the time that the respective OASIS Standard was finally approved; and (2) that Member Section is open; and (3) the Rules of Procedure of that Member Section require that the external submission request be approved by the Member Section’s Steering Committee: then that Steering Committee may submit the request, after approving a motion to do so, if the TC has previously approved a motion to submit the request by a Special Majority Vote.
         2. If there is no such Member Section, then the TC may submit the request, after approving a motion to do so by a Special Majority Vote.
      2. Closed TC. If the Technical Committee that originally developed the OASIS Standard is closed, there are the following two options:
         1. If (1) there is a Member Section with which the TC was affiliated at the time that the respective OASIS Standard was finally approved; and (2) that Member Section is open; and (3) the Rules of Procedure of that Member Section require that the external submission request be approved by the Member Section’s Steering Committee: then that Steering Committee may submit the request, after approving a motion to do so.
         2. Otherwise, then a minimum of five OASIS Organizational Members may submit the request.
2. Written submission request.

   Any submission request delivered to the OASIS President under this policy must be in writing, and must include the following:

   1. The name(s) of the submission requester(s), that is, the TC, the Member Section, or the OASIS Organizational Members that support the submission request as described in section 1(d).
   2. The name of the intended receiving standards organization. The request may also suggest the committee or group in that organization which should process that submission.
   3. The intended status or outcome that the request seeks from the receiving organization’s process; and a short description of the receiving organization’s approval process, including estimated time required, stages of approval and who votes at each stage.
   4. An explanation of how the submission will benefit OASIS.
   5. The expected licensing, copyright and other intellectual property terms that will be used by the receiving organization in regard to the submission.
   6. A statement of the intended future plans for versioning and maintenance of the OASIS Standard and/or Approved Errata for that standard, and the expected roles of OASIS and the receiving organization. This must include clear statements of the rules of the receiving organization applicable to maintenance of an approved submitted standard, and to future versions of that standard; any requirements regarding the submission of future versions; and a description of how OASIS and the submission requesters expect to comply with those rules.
3. Submission request processing.
   1. In case the submission request is being submitted by a number of OASIS Organizational Members as described in section 1(d)(ii)(B), the Primary Representatives of these OASIS Members must confirm the submission request.
   2. The OASIS President shall have 15 days after receipt of the submission request to confirm the completeness of the request. No later than the 15th day after receiving it, the President shall either return the request to the requesters with an explanation indicating its failure to meet the requirements set forth in section 2, or shall post notice of the submission request to an announced mailing list (or equivalent method) visible to the requesters and all OASIS Members, for comment. The notice will announce that comments are invited to be sent to that list for a period of 30 days after the review notice is posted.
   3. At the end of that 30 day comment period, the President shall have up to 15 days to approve or reject the submission request. No later than the 15th day after the last day of the comment period, the President shall transmit a notice of that decision in writing to the submission requesters and all OASIS Members.
   4. The President shall not approve any request that does not meet the criteria listed in Sections 1 and 2.
   5. If the request is approved, the President shall transmit the submission to the receiving organization, and commit OASIS to the submission process, no earlier than the 15th day after the notice of decision is transmitted to the submission requesters and OASIS members, and no later than the 45th day thereafter.
   6. The President may approve the request with changes to the proposed submission method, schedule or designated receiving organization. Any such changes made to those terms shall be reported in the notice of decision transmitted to the submission requesters and OASIS Members.
   7. Any OASIS member may appeal the President’s approval or rejection of a proposed submission, or changes made to its terms, in the manner provided in Section 6.
4. Submission terms with receiving organization.

   The OASIS President must ensure that the terms of an approved submission request cannot result in multiple divergent versions of the submitted standard. The OASIS copyright should remain on the standard when it is published by the other organization, i.e. both OASIS’ and the other organization’s copyright will appear on the standard, but this copyright requirement can be waived by the OASIS President as long as:

   1. The other organization agrees that only OASIS will continue to maintain and modify the standard until OASIS notifies the other organization that it waives that right;
   2. OASIS can continue to publish the OASIS-copyrighted version of the specification under its copyright and distribution policy.

   The OASIS President must arrange for appropriate acknowledgement, in a written acceptance, an applicable set of rules, a signed memorandum of understanding or other appropriate written form, that the above items are mutually understood between OASIS and the receiving organization.

5. Maintenance and errata.

   Once an initial OASIS Standard has been submitted according to the terms of this policy and approved by a receiving organization, then:

   1. Approved Errata. OASIS shall submit any Approved Errata to the approved standard to the same receiving organization, if it still accepts submissions. No request or approval is required. The President will confer with any TC and Member Section with the right to vote on the standard’s submission, in his or her preparation of the submission.
   2. Subsequent Versions. When a new version of an OASIS Standard, which has been submitted to and approved by a receiving organization, itself is approved as an OASIS Standard, the submission of the new version requires a new submission request in accordance with this policy. If a TC agreed to submit future versions, in the approved terms of the original submission, but then later withdraws its commitment or fails to request submission of the new OASIS Standard version, then the President may elect to submit that new version nevertheless, but must so notify the TC, OASIS Members and the Board of Directors. In such cases, the President must provide a copy of the proposed submission terms, so as to permit an appeal; and that submission and any commitment shall be made no sooner than the 15th day after that notification.
   3. Exchange of Comments and Proposed Corrections. OASIS and, if it is open, the TC that originally developed the approved OASIS Standard, may periodically share with the receiving organization any interim corrections and comments it receives on that standard. If OASIS and the receiving organization choose to maintain shared lists or joint repositories of that interim data, without issuing a new approved version, that activity will not constitute a separate submission, for purposes of this policy, so long as the requirements of Section 4 continue to be met.
6. Appeal.
   1. Any OASIS Member may appeal a decision of the President described in Section 3, 4 or 5 above, within 30 days of the decision, by delivering a complaint to the OASIS Board of Directors, stating the decision at issue, the nature and reasons for the objection(s), and the outcomes desired. If such an appeal is received, the President shall take no further action on the submission at issue until the Board has rendered a decision on the appeal. In order to be valid, such appeal shall be sent to the Board comment list (oasis-board-comment@lists.oasis-open.org).
   2. Within 7 days of receipt of the complaint, the Chairman of the Board shall provide a copy of the complaint to the requesters of the submission at issue. The Board shall hold a hearing (with the appellants invited) within 45 days of receipt of the appeal. The Board shall render its decision within 30 days. The decision of the Board shall be final.
   3. The OASIS Board of Directors has the authority to effect such remedial action as may be necessary to remedy a complaint brought under this policy.

Liaisons to a Technical Committee or Member Section

An OASIS TC or MS may desire to have a relationship with a working group or technical committee of another organization, by having one or more persons act as liaison representative(s) between the two groups. The selection of the liaison and any invitation to other organizations to provide a liaison should be by vote of the relevant TC or the Steering Committee of the relevant MS. The selection of the liaison must be communicated to the OASIS President, and the liaison must be listed on the web page of the TC or MS. A TC may form a liaison subcommittee as required to help the TC coordinate its various liaison relationships; an MS may do so, to the extent consistent with the OASIS Member Section Policy and its own Rules of Procedure.

Ideally a liaison relationship is accomplished by selecting a person who is a member of both the OASIS TC or MS, as well as the working group of the other organization to communicate between the two. If such a dual-membership person is not available or is not the right person for this role then the TC or MS may ask one of its own members to join the other organization, or recruit a member of the other organization to join OASIS and that TC or MS. If the latter, then the prospective liaison must become an Eligible Person (as defined in the OASIS TC Process), by joining OASIS in an appropriate membership class, in order to give the person eligibility to join the TC or MS in accordance with OASIS membership policies.

While a TC or MS liaison has been asked by the TC or MS to represent its interests in the work of the other organization, that person does not officially represent OASIS, and cannot speak for or obligate OASIS in any way. Only persons appointed as an organizational liaison representative as described above may represent the consortium.

The TC or MS liaison’s participation in the other organization is governed by that other organization’s membership agreement, rules, and procedures. That person acts as a member of that organization, and so. must, for example, follow the other organization’s rules concerning confidentiality when sharing that organizations’ information with the OASIS TC or MS.

OASIS has no class of membership for an “invited expert.” To participate in an OASIS TC or MS, a person must become eligible as described in the OASIS membership policies, OASIS TC Process, and OASIS Member Section Policy.

If the desired organization or person is unable to pay the membership fee to join OASIS, the TC or MS may petition the OASIS President to grant a fee-waived, one-year, Individual or Associate membership to the person, as described below.

Fee-waived membership grants

On some occasions it is in the best interests of OASIS to grant fee-waived membership to people or other organizations for the purpose of furthering the work of OASIS. OASIS will grant membership based on the criteria of OASIS gaining benefit from having the other organization or person as a member of or participant in the activities of OASIS. The OASIS President may grant any level of OASIS membership to a person or organization. The grant will be for a fee-waived, one-year membership at a particular membership level. The member will have all of the rights associated with that level of membership. The level granted will be selected based upon the intended level of participation of the person or organization, including

• whether the person or organization needs participation at only the TC or MS level, or also voting at the OASIS-wide level;
• whether the person or organization needs to be included in OASIS press releases;
• the number of participants from the organization in OASIS technical activities; and
• whether the other organization has or will in exchange grant OASIS membership in their organization, what rights that membership gives OASIS, and what use OASIS will make of this membership.

All membership levels may be granted on a fee-waived, one-year basis by the OASIS President. The fee-waived memberships will be re-evaluated annually based on the same criteria.

Dates Approved:  Tue, 2009-05-19 Effective:  Tue, 2009-05-19

1.0 Role of the Member Sections within OASIS

The OASIS Member Section Policy governs the formation, structure and activities of a Member Section as described in the OASIS Bylaws. A Member Section may be created:

1. a) To support one or more OASIS Technical Committees through coordination and/or funding of activities.
2. b) To enable existing organizations or initiatives to become part of OASIS, while maintaining their identity and governance through the Member Section Steering Committee.
3. c) When a collection of OASIS Members recognize a particular need or common goal and are willing to commit to work on that need over an extended period.

This Policy applies to all members of OASIS. The OASIS Board of Directors may amend this Policy at any time in its sole discretion.

2.0 Definitions

1. “Eligible Person” shall have the meaning defined for such term by the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
2. “Member Section” An OASIS Member Section (MS) is an organizational structure as provided in the OASIS Bylaws (Article 12, Section 3), to focus on particular structured information standards, or families of standards, that may be or may become the subject of one or more Technical Committees.
3. “Member Section Funds” are funds that are used by the Member Section to support Member Section activities.
4. “Member Section Member” is an Eligible Person who is either an Individual Member Section Supporting Entity or an employee or designee of an organizational Member Section Supporting Entity, who subscribes to the Member Section email list (Roster) as a Member, and participates in Member Section list discussions as described in Section 3.6, “Activities of the Member Section Members”.
5. “Member Section Observer” is an Eligible Person who subscribes to the Member Section email list (Roster) as an Observer, and is not allowed to participate in Member Section email list discussions, or vote in Member Section Steering Committee elections.
6. “Member Section Qualified Elector” is a Member Section Member who has voting rights in the Member Section. The process for gaining voting rights in a specific Member Section is defined in that Member Section’s Rules of Procedure.
7. “Member Section Steering Committee” is a group of Member Section Members who govern that Member Section as described in Section 3.5, “Activities of a Member Section Steering Committee”.
8. “Member Section Steering Committee Special Majority Vote” is a Member Section Steering Committee vote in which at least 2/3 (two thirds) of the Steering Committee vote “yes”. This is based on the total number of Eligible Persons on that Steering Committee, regardless of the number of Member Section Steering Committee members present in the meeting. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a Member Section Steering Committee in which there are 9 Eligible Persons Members, at least 6 Voting Members must vote “yes” for a motion to pass.
9. “Member Section Subcommittee” means any subcommittee created by a Member Section Steering Committee pursuant to this Policy under Section 5.6, “Member Section Subcommittees”.
10. “Member Section Supporting Entity” is an OASIS Organizational Member or Individual Member who has joined (by notifying OASIS Member Services) a Member Section.
11. “Rules of Procedure” or “ROP” are the set of rules specific for each Member Section that define the makeup and election process for the Member Section Steering Committee, and other matters required or permitted by this Policy and the Bylaws. The Rules of Procedure must be approved by the OASIS Board before formation of the Member Section, and may be amended as provided in this Policy.
12. “Special Majority Vote of the TC” shall have the meaning defined for the term “Special Majority Vote” by the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
13. “Technical Committee” or “TC” shall have the meaning defined for such term by the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
14. “Technical Committee Affiliated with a Member Section” or “Affiliated TC” is a TC that has become affiliated with a single Member Section according to the process described in Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting”.
15. “Uncommitted Member Section Funds” are Member Section Funds that (i) were approved for funding expenditures in the current budget year but not incurred as budgeted; or (ii) available for funding expenditures in the following budget year but without an approved budget (or approved forecast/plan to use them). The OASIS financial staff identifies such funds for further review by the OASIS Board.

3.0 Structure & Activities of the Member Section

3.1 Structure of a Member Section

A Member Section (MS) is comprised of a Steering Committee, at least three Member Section Supporting Entities who are OASIS Organizational Members, Member Section Members and zero or more Affiliated TCs, each as defined in this Policy. A Member Section is initially formed with no TCs. Both existing TCs and new TCs may become affiliated with a Member Section (see Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting” of this Policy).

A Member Section is not required to have Member Section Funds.

3.2 Formation of a Member Section

A Member Section may be created by submitting for OASIS Board approval a proposed Rules of Procedure. The ROP must specify:

1. (a) The name of the Member Section — Member Section names may not contain trademarks not owned by OASIS, and may not be confusing with other OASIS Member Section names or TC Names not affiliated with the Member Section.
2. (b) The Member Section statement of work – This is the planned general area of work to be addressed by TCs that affiliate with this Member Section.
3. (c) The rules for electing new Steering Committee Members – This includes any restrictions on who may be a member of the Steering Committee. This section must specify how the Steering Committee is constituted from any combination of the following choices:
   1. at-large positions determined by elections among all the Qualified Electors;
   2. TC representatives determined using open elections within each TC affiliated with the Member Section;
   3. designated positions reserved for representatives chosen by specific industry associations; or
   4. designated positions reserved for representatives from a specific constituency elected through an open process.

   This section also must define the length of term of those on the Steering Committee (either one-year or two-year terms) and which portion of the Steering Committee members are elected in annual elections (for one-year terms all elected positions are elected for one-year terms, or for two-year terms approximately half of the elected positions are elected for two-year terms). Vacancies for elected seats on the Steering Committee must be filled by special election if the newly elected member will serve for at least six months, otherwise the position will remain vacant until the next annual election. All members of the Steering Committee must be and remain members of the Member Section, in order to be elected and serve. The election of open seats on the Steering Committee shall be conducted using Single Transferable Voting (which is a ranked voting method). The RoP must also specify who is allowed to cast a ballot (e.g. who can be a Member Section Qualified Elector), and how a Qualified Elector is designated.

4. (d) The initial makeup of the Member Section Steering Committee – The Steering Committee must consist of an odd number of committee members (minimum 3). This section of the ROP will state the initial terms of the designated Steering Committee members, either all for one year terms, or maximum two year terms (with approximately half for two years and the remaining for one year), until elections are held.
5. (e) The process for changing the number of Steering Committee members – The ROP must include provisions for expanding and contracting the number of Steering Committee Members during the life cycle of the Member Section. The Steering Committee must consist of an odd number of committee members (minimum 3), unless a vacancy exists for less than six months.
6. (f) The funding model (if any) for the Member Section – Member Sections optionally may propose in their ROP that a portion of dues paid by Member Section Supporting Entities be available as Member Section Funds. The uses and expenditures of such funds must be in accordance with the rules prescribed in this Policy. If dues allocation is proposed for this Member Section, the proposers of the Member Section must provide a budget and work with OASIS Staff to create an analysis of the financial impact of dues allocation on the OASIS general fund in advance of the OASIS Board’s approval of the ROP, in order to help the OASIS Board make an informed decision. Further, the Member Section must have an approved annual budget that shows how Member Section Funds collected from all sources are used to further Member Section goals.

   Member Section Funds come from a variety of sources such as:

   1. a percentage of the income from OASIS membership dues paid by the Member Section Supporting Entities, allocated over the term of the membership;
   2. a percentage of the income from OASIS sponsorship fees for sponsoring the Member Section website, allocated over the term of the membership;
   3. grants of funds from OASIS Members or other funding sources for work that is in alignment with the scope of that Member Section;
   4. revenue from events conducted by the Member Section; and
   5. (in the case of acquisition of another organization by OASIS) any funds it may have previously held as a separate organization.

   In those Member Sections that accept dues allocations, Member Section Supporting Entities will have a portion of their OASIS Membership dues allocated to the Member Section as described above.

7. (g) Any provisions that apply to affiliated OASIS Technical Committees – The ROP must specify (i) the allowable IPR Modes and Languages to be included in Charters of Affiliated TCs, and (ii) any Member Section-wide TC Charter requirements as specified in Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting”.
8. (h) Any other provisions – The ROP may specify additional provisions that are not prohibited by this policy.

The proposers must review their ROP and financial justification (if applicable) with OASIS Staff. Once the RoP meets the requirements of this section, OASIS management will submit the ROP to the OASIS Board, before the next regularly scheduled OASIS Board meeting, for approval by the OASIS Board.

Once the ROP is approved by the OASIS Board, the Member Section is created, and new TCs which are to be affiliated with the Member Section may be created and/or existing OASIS TCs may choose to become affiliated with the Member Section.

3.3 Closure of a Member Section

When all TCs in a MS have completed their deliverables and no new work is planned to be chartered, the Steering Committee may vote to dissolve the Member Section. If at the time of any Steering Committee election there are less than three (3) Qualified Electors of the Member Section, the Member Section may be dissolved by the OASIS Board. If a Member Section is unable to maintain a minimum of three (3) members to serve on the Steering Committee, the Member Section must be closed. Closure may occur by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Steering Committee or by resolution of the OASIS Board if the Member Steering Committee is unable to act. Any Member Section Funds which exist at the time of closure shall be transferred to OASIS Net Assets. The balance of any unrecognized income will revert back to the OASIS General Operating Fund.

3.4 Removal of a Member Section Steering Committee Member

Member Section Steering Committee Members may be removed by vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast by the Member Section Qualified Electors in an electronic ballot. A Steering Committee Member may also be removed by resolution of the OASIS Board.

3.5 Activities of a Member Section Steering Committee

The following are activities of the Member Section Steering Committee:

1. (a) Must maintain a Rules of Procedure (ROP) document for the Member Section (as defined in Section 3.2, “Formation of a Member Section”).
2. (b) Must vote on the affiliation of any Technical Committee requesting to be affiliated with the Member Section.
3. (c) Must provide spokesperson(s) for press/analyst briefings, as coordinated by OASIS staff.
4. (d) (if the Member Section retains Member Section Funds) Must provide quarterly reports to OASIS management and to the Member Section Members on the actual and planned activities and expenses of the Member Section.
5. (e) (if the Member Section retains Member Section Funds) Must establish and maintain budgets and priorities for the disbursement of Member Section Funds. If there is a material change to the Member Section’s financial outlook during the year, the Steering Committee shall review and update (in consultation with OASIS management) the plans accordingly (see Section 8, “Financial and Management Reporting”).

In addition, the Steering Committee:

1. (f) May create and maintain content for Member Section website (if such exists), either using volunteers or external resource paid for by Member Section Funds (if available).
2. (g) If Member Section Funds are retained, must direct the use of such funds as approved and administered by OASIS management, including but not limited to the following expense categories:
   • Outside contractors;
   • Printing and design of collateral materials;
   • Conference participation;
   • Travel expenses for OASIS staff conducting work on behalf of the Member Section, pre-approved by the Member Section Steering Committee;
   • Dedicated IT and infrastructure costs;
   • Dedicated technical resources;
   • Professional fees specific to Member Section activities; and
   • OASIS memberships and other payments specific to the Member Section.
3. (h) May establish liaison relationships in accordance with the OASIS Liaison Policy.

3.6 Activities of the Member Section Members

The following are the activities that the Members of a Member Section engage in:

1. (a) Vote in the election of Steering Committee Members (Qualified Electors only);
2. (b) Discuss and provide feedback on the overall direction and program of work of the Member Section activities; and
3. (c) Provide feedback to the Member Section Steering Committee on plans and decisions that the Steering Committee makes.

3.7 Activities of Affiliated Technical Committees

The Technical Committees that are affiliated with a Member Section are governed by the same set of policies that govern all OASIS TCs. See Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting” for details on affiliated Technical Committees.

4.0 Membership Model

4.1 OASIS Members are eligible to participate in any OASIS Technical Committee without prejudice or preference, regardless of (a) their designation as a Member Section Supporting Entity; or (b) whether the TC is affiliated with an OASIS Member Section.

4.2 OASIS Members may join a Member Section as a Supporting Entity at any time; however, a Member Section Supporting Entity may only withdraw from selected Member Section(s) by notification to OASIS Member Services:

1. (for Member Sections electing membership dues allocation) after at least 12 months of financial participation in the Member Section; or
2. (for Member Sections with no membership dues allocation) at any time.

4.3 Any allocation percentage of membership dues from Member Section Supporting Entities will be specified in that Member Section’s Rules of Procedure, subject to an annually agreed-upon budget approved by OASIS management and the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee during the annual budgeting process.

4.4 When an OASIS Member becomes a Supporting Entity of more than one OASIS Member Section (and more than one of these Member Sections has dues allocation to support their Member Section activities), the funding portion of that member’s dues will be distributed proportionally among all such Member Sections, based on the allocation percentage of each Member Section (as defined in that Member Section’s ROP).

4.5 All Member Section income and expenses will be tracked and managed in OASIS accounts. The portion of the funds designated for use by OASIS Member Sections will be tracked and managed by OASIS and will be subject to prior approval by OASIS management.

5.0 Governance

5.1 Governing Policies

Member Sections will operate in accordance with the OASIS Bylaws, their approved Rules of Procedure, and any other applicable OASIS policies, procedures, and guidelines. Once a Member Section Steering Committee is established at OASIS, it may modify its Member Section Rules of Procedure, subject to approval by the OASIS Board.

5.2 Member Section Steering Committees

Members of a Member Section Steering Committee must, at all times, be current eligible OASIS Members as well as Member Section Members. The manner in which Member Section Steering Committees are formed will be defined in each Member Section’s Rules of Procedure. The existing Steering Committee will conduct the election in an open, accountable manner, with oversight by OASIS Staff.

5.3 Qualified Electors within a Member Section

Voting in Member Section Steering Committee elections is restricted to Member Section Qualified Electors. Unless specified otherwise by the Member Section Rules of Procedure, the Member Section Qualified Elector will be the Supporting Entity’s Primary Representative unless the Primary Representative designates an alternate representative from the same Supporting Entity as the Primary Representative who is making the designation. Voting in any other elections, ballots, or votes that may be held by the Member Section is similarly restricted to Member Section Qualified Electors.

5.4 Steering Committee Operation

The Member Section Steering Committee will elect its own Chair, and set its own meeting schedule and agenda. A Vice-Chair may be elected to chair meetings in the absence of the Chair, or to succeed the Chair if that person becomes unable to fulfill his or her duties. A Steering Committee may elect a Treasurer from amongst its members. The Steering Committee Chair will be the primary point of contact for financial reporting and spending authorization, unless the Steering Committee has designated a Treasurer to fulfill this role.

The Steering Committee should conduct its meetings according to the precepts of Roberts Rules of Order. All members of the Steering Committee shall have voting rights within the Steering Committee.

5.5 Steering Committee Financial Responsibility

The Member Section Steering Committee will direct the expenditure of Member Section Funds (if available) to advance the mission of the Member Section. Expenditure of such funds is managed through an approved budget process, as described in Section 9. The Member Section Steering Committee may not sign contracts or execute legal papers; however, they may select and recommend consultants and contractors to be engaged by OASIS management. The Member Section may not engage in any activity that might jeopardize OASIS’ status as a tax-exempt organization.

5.6 Member Section Subcommittees

The Member Section Steering Committee may, by resolution, establish one or more subcommittees of the Member Section to perform or advise the Member Section regarding any function that the Member Section or its Steering Committee is permitted to perform. The duration, membership, chair (and optionally co-chair) and scope of a Member Section Subcommittee shall be set or provided for, and may be amended from time to time, by the Member Section Steering Committee; and shall be posted on the Member Section’s website as the Subcommittee’s charter. Members of any Member Section Subcommittee must, at all times, be current Eligible Persons.

Each Member Section Subcommittee shall conduct its meetings according to the precepts of Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised and this Policy. All members of a Member Section Subcommittee shall have voting rights within that Subcommittee.

A Member Section Subcommittee also may be established by the Rules of Procedure; thereafter, its duration, membership, chair (and optionally co-chair) and scope may be provided for, and amended from time to time, by the Member Section Steering Committee.

5.7 Visibility

The official copies of all resources of each Member Section, its Steering Committee and each Member Section Subcommittee, including web pages, documents, email lists and any other records of discussions, must be located only on facilities designated by OASIS. None of the above may conduct official business or technical discussions, store documents, or host web pages on servers or systems not designated by OASIS.

All web pages, documents, ballot results and email archives of the Member Section Steering Committee shall be visible to all OASIS Members; the Steering Committee may further decide to make such Steering Committee records visible to the public. All web pages, documents, ballot results and email archives of the Member Section and each Member Section Subcommittee shall be visible to the public; however, upon the request of the Member Section Steering Committee, the OASIS Board may designate that the resources of a specific Member Section Subcommittee shall be visible only to all OASIS Members. Any OASIS member should be able to post email to the official lists of the Member Section, its Steering Committee and each Member Section Subcommittee.

6.0 Technical Process, Management, Reporting

6.1 The OASIS TC Administrator will oversee all work done under the OASIS Technical Committee Process for TCs affiliated with the Member Section in the same manner and service it provides to the rest of OASIS and other similarly established OASIS Member Sections.

6.2 Technical Committees affiliated with a Member Section will abide by the OASIS Technical Committee Process and all other OASIS Policies and Bylaws.

6.3 OASIS TCs may become affiliated with at most one Member Section.

6.4 The Member Section Steering Committee will be given the opportunity to review the TC’s proposed charter, and may approve the new TC’s affiliation with the Member Section by a Member Section Steering Committee Special Majority Vote.

6.5 Existing TCs, formed prior to the existence of a Member Section or not initially affiliated with a Member Section, may apply for such affiliation if a Special Majority Vote of the TC to affiliate the existing TC passes. Such affiliation must then also be approved by a Member Section Steering Committee Special Majority Vote.

6.6 A Technical Committee approved to be affiliated with a Member Section may use a name associated with that Member Section as part of the TC’s name, which is specified in the TC Charter. OASIS TCs that are not approved for affiliation with a Member Section by that Member Section’s Steering Committee may not use the Member Section’s name or any name that could be confused with the Member Section’s name.

6.7 A TC affiliated with a Member Section may choose to become unaffiliated with that Member Section by a Special Majority Vote of the TC.  The MS Steering Committee may vote to terminate the affiliation of a TC for any reason at any time by a Member Section Steering Committee Special-Majority Vote. A TC that becomes unaffiliated with a Member Section must change the TC Name if that TC Name included the previously affiliated Member Section’s name or abbreviation of the Member Section’s name.

6.8 Additional TC requirements (as listed in this section) may be specified within a Member Section Rules of Procedure for inclusion within a TC’s Charter by Technical Committees affiliated with a Member Section, as long as they do not conflict with requirements of the OASIS Technical Committee Process, the Bylaws of OASIS or other policies adopted by the OASIS Board. The following are optional requirements that may be specified by the Member Section for inclusion within all affiliated Technical Committee charters:

• The IPR Mode of the affiliated TC
• The Language of choice of the affiliated TC

6.9 OASIS staff provides a central review for all Technical Committee work, including TCs affiliated with a Member Section, to identify potential conflicts or overlap with other committees or standards bodies, and to help build liaisons as appropriate.  Any liaisons established must conform to the published OASIS Liaison Policy. The Member Section may be responsible for coordinating the work among the TCs affiliated with their Member Section, if so specified in its ROP.

6.10 Member Section Rules of Procedure may include a requirement whereby the Member Section Steering Committee must vote (by a simple majority vote or by Member Section Steering Committee Special-Majority Vote) to allow an affiliated TC to vote on a Committee Specification submittal for approval as an OASIS Standard.

6.11 Member Section Rules of Procedure may include a requirement whereby the Member Section Steering Committee must approve (by a simple majority vote or by Member Section Steering Committee Special-Majority Vote) an affiliated TC’s request for submission of an OASIS Standard to another organization according to the OASIS Liaison Policy.

7.0 Staff Services

OASIS will provide the following services for the OASIS Member Sections in the same manner and service it provides to the rest of OASIS without preference or prejudice.

7.1 Web Hosting & Maintenance

7.1.1 OASIS will provide web hosting services for the OASIS Member Sections’ web sites.

7.1.2 OASIS will provide services for mail list hosting, on-line collaboration, document management and related services, and back up of all web and email data.

7.2 Membership Services

Membership services include, but are not limited to,

• managing acceptance and processing of membership agreements,
• creation and maintenance of the OASIS Member Section membership database,
• recruiting and expanding participation from both within the Consortium and externally, and
• provision of membership renewal services, web forms and technology to enable online membership application.

7.3 Accounting Services

7.3.1 Accounting services include, but are not limited to,

• processing member invoices and collection of all member payments,
• acceptance of online and manual credit card payments, checks and wire transfers made payable to OASIS, and
• revenue projections and reporting.

7.3.2 OASIS will approve and issue payments on behalf of the OASIS Member Section for expenses authorized and requested by the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee. The OASIS Member Section Steering Committee chair will be the primary point-of-contact for reporting and requesting payment unless the Steering Committee has designated a Treasurer to fulfill this role.

7.3.3 OASIS management will provide revenue projections, budgeting, and reporting to assist the Steering Committee to determine their funds available for expenditure.

7.3.4 All OASIS accounting records pertaining to the individual OASIS Member Section will be available for inspection by the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee.

7.4 Marketing and Public Relations Services

7.4.1 OASIS marketing and public relations support services include, but are not limited to,

• announcement of the formation of the OASIS Member Section,
• efforts to enlarge the media pool to address the needs of the OASIS Member Section,
• coordination of conference presentations by OASIS Member Section representatives,
• analyst briefings,
• coverage of activities in OASIS e-newsletters and Information Channels (Cover Pages and XML.org), and
• public announcements of new Technical Committee formations and milestones as appropriate.

7.4.2 The cost of marketing and promotional activities specific to the OASIS Member Sections will be paid from OASIS Member Section Funds (if any). This may include the attendance or participation of OASIS staff at an OASIS Member Section specific event, with such funds disbursement approved in advance by the Member Section Steering Committee.

7.4.3 Marketing of any Member Section brand and other marketing activities of the OASIS Member Section will be managed by the Member Section Steering Committee and funded from the OASIS Member Section Funds (if any) with input and oversight from OASIS management.  Public relations for the OASIS Member Sections will be conducted in accordance with OASIS practices and policies, including the OASIS Media Relations Policy.

8.0 Financial and Management Reporting

8.1 For those Member Sections retaining Member Section Funds, OASIS management will provide monthly financial statements to the Steering Committee Chair to support the management and operation of the OASIS Member Sections.

8.2 The OASIS Member Section Steering Committees will provide quarterly management reports on the actual and planned activities and expenses to OASIS management, including business reports, communications, and budget and activity forecasts as required by OASIS management as part of the normal course of business. The Member Section reports must be submitted before the end of the month following the recently completed quarter. These Member Section quarterly reports must also be posted to the designated document folders accessible to all Member Section Members or Observers.

9.0 Annual, Budget and Ad Hoc Reviews

9.1. All activities of the OASIS Member Sections, available Member Section Funds and projected income and expenses will be reviewed during the annual budgeting process by OASIS management and the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee to determine the proposed budget. All funds allocation percentages must be agreed upon by the Member Section and OASIS management.

9.2. Each Member Section retaining Member Section Funds is required to prepare a proposed budget each year for the following calendar year. This proposed budget must be submitted prior to December 1 of each year to OASIS Management for inclusion in the organizational budget, for approval by the OASIS Board. This approved budget shall be distributed to each Member Section Steering Committee.

9.3 If a Member Section does not expend its Member Section Funds according to its approved budget in the current year, or does not submit a draft expense budget for the next year according to Section 9.2 above, the OASIS Board may reduce or stop the allocation of membership dues to that Member Section until an acceptable spending plan is received and approved by the OASIS Board. In such a case, unallocated membership and sponsorship dues income will accrue during this period to the OASIS General Fund and will be lost to the Member Section.

9.4 In the November/December budget approval period of each year, the Uncommitted Member Section Funds status of all applicable Member Sections will be reviewed by the OASIS Board and management. Should the review conclude that a Member Section is holding Uncommitted Member Section Funds, the OASIS Board may transfer some or all of such funds to the OASIS Net Assets for use as the OASIS Board determines. In such a case, the Member Section Steering Committee shall be apprised of the proposed action and given the opportunity to present their views to the OASIS Board before a final funds transfer decision is made.

9.5 Ad Hoc Review. An ad hoc review of any OASIS Member Section activities, budget, and Member Section Funds may be undertaken at any time by OASIS management and/or the applicable OASIS Member Section Steering Committee.

Dates Approved:  Tue, 2009-05-19 Effective:  Tue, 2009-05-19

1.0 Role of the Member Sections within OASIS

The OASIS Member Section Policy governs the formation, structure and activities of a Member Section as described in the OASIS Bylaws. A Member Section may be created:

1. a) To support one or more OASIS Technical Committees through coordination and/or funding of activities.
2. b) To enable existing organizations or initiatives to become part of OASIS, while maintaining their identity and governance through the Member Section Steering Committee.
3. c) When a collection of OASIS Members recognize a particular need or common goal and are willing to commit to work on that need over an extended period.

This Policy applies to all members of OASIS. The OASIS Board of Directors may amend this Policy at any time in its sole discretion.

2.0 Definitions

1. “Eligible Person” shall have the meaning defined for such term by the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
2. “Member Section” An OASIS Member Section (MS) is an organizational structure as provided in the OASIS Bylaws (Article 12, Section 3), to focus on particular structured information standards, or families of standards, that may be or may become the subject of one or more Technical Committees.
3. “Member Section Funds” are funds that are used by the Member Section to support Member Section activities.
4. “Member Section Member” is an Eligible Person who is either an Individual Member Section Supporting Entity or an employee or designee of an organizational Member Section Supporting Entity, who subscribes to the Member Section email list (Roster) as a Member, and participates in Member Section list discussions as described in Section 3.6, “Activities of the Member Section Members”.
5. “Member Section Observer” is an Eligible Person who subscribes to the Member Section email list (Roster) as an Observer, and is not allowed to participate in Member Section email list discussions, or vote in Member Section Steering Committee elections.
6. “Member Section Qualified Elector” is a Member Section Member who has voting rights in the Member Section. The process for gaining voting rights in a specific Member Section is defined in that Member Section’s Rules of Procedure.
7. “Member Section Steering Committee” is a group of Member Section Members who govern that Member Section as described in Section 3.5, “Activities of a Member Section Steering Committee”.
8. “Member Section Steering Committee Special Majority Vote” is a Member Section Steering Committee vote in which at least 2/3 (two thirds) of the Steering Committee vote “yes”. This is based on the total number of Eligible Persons on that Steering Committee, regardless of the number of Member Section Steering Committee members present in the meeting. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a Member Section Steering Committee in which there are 9 Eligible Persons Members, at least 6 Voting Members must vote “yes” for a motion to pass.
9. “Member Section Subcommittee” means any subcommittee created by a Member Section Steering Committee pursuant to this Policy under Section 5.6, “Member Section Subcommittees”.
10. “Member Section Supporting Entity” is an OASIS Organizational Member or Individual Member who has joined (by notifying OASIS Member Services) a Member Section.
11. “Rules of Procedure” or “ROP” are the set of rules specific for each Member Section that define the makeup and election process for the Member Section Steering Committee, and other matters required or permitted by this Policy and the Bylaws. The Rules of Procedure must be approved by the OASIS Board before formation of the Member Section, and may be amended as provided in this Policy.
12. “Special Majority Vote of the TC” shall have the meaning defined for the term “Special Majority Vote” by the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
13. “Technical Committee” or “TC” shall have the meaning defined for such term by the OASIS Technical Committee Process.
14. “Technical Committee Affiliated with a Member Section” or “Affiliated TC” is a TC that has become affiliated with a single Member Section according to the process described in Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting”.
15. “Uncommitted Member Section Funds” are Member Section Funds that (i) were approved for funding expenditures in the current budget year but not incurred as budgeted; or (ii) available for funding expenditures in the following budget year but without an approved budget (or approved forecast/plan to use them). The OASIS financial staff identifies such funds for further review by the OASIS Board.

3.0 Structure & Activities of the Member Section

3.1 Structure of a Member Section

A Member Section (MS) is comprised of a Steering Committee, at least three Member Section Supporting Entities who are OASIS Organizational Members, Member Section Members and zero or more Affiliated TCs, each as defined in this Policy. A Member Section is initially formed with no TCs. Both existing TCs and new TCs may become affiliated with a Member Section (see Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting” of this Policy).

A Member Section is not required to have Member Section Funds.

3.2 Formation of a Member Section

A Member Section may be created by submitting for OASIS Board approval a proposed Rules of Procedure. The ROP must specify:

1. (a) The name of the Member Section — Member Section names may not contain trademarks not owned by OASIS, and may not be confusing with other OASIS Member Section names or TC Names not affiliated with the Member Section.
2. (b) The Member Section statement of work – This is the planned general area of work to be addressed by TCs that affiliate with this Member Section.
3. (c) The rules for electing new Steering Committee Members – This includes any restrictions on who may be a member of the Steering Committee. This section must specify how the Steering Committee is constituted from any combination of the following choices:
   1. at-large positions determined by elections among all the Qualified Electors;
   2. TC representatives determined using open elections within each TC affiliated with the Member Section;
   3. designated positions reserved for representatives chosen by specific industry associations; or
   4. designated positions reserved for representatives from a specific constituency elected through an open process.

   This section also must define the length of term of those on the Steering Committee (either one-year or two-year terms) and which portion of the Steering Committee members are elected in annual elections (for one-year terms all elected positions are elected for one-year terms, or for two-year terms approximately half of the elected positions are elected for two-year terms). Vacancies for elected seats on the Steering Committee must be filled by special election if the newly elected member will serve for at least six months, otherwise the position will remain vacant until the next annual election. All members of the Steering Committee must be and remain members of the Member Section, in order to be elected and serve. The election of open seats on the Steering Committee shall be conducted using Single Transferable Voting (which is a ranked voting method). The RoP must also specify who is allowed to cast a ballot (e.g. who can be a Member Section Qualified Elector), and how a Qualified Elector is designated.

4. (d) The initial makeup of the Member Section Steering Committee – The Steering Committee must consist of an odd number of committee members (minimum 3). This section of the ROP will state the initial terms of the designated Steering Committee members, either all for one year terms, or maximum two year terms (with approximately half for two years and the remaining for one year), until elections are held.
5. (e) The process for changing the number of Steering Committee members – The ROP must include provisions for expanding and contracting the number of Steering Committee Members during the life cycle of the Member Section. The Steering Committee must consist of an odd number of committee members (minimum 3), unless a vacancy exists for less than six months.
6. (f) The funding model (if any) for the Member Section – Member Sections optionally may propose in their ROP that a portion of dues paid by Member Section Supporting Entities be available as Member Section Funds. The uses and expenditures of such funds must be in accordance with the rules prescribed in this Policy. If dues allocation is proposed for this Member Section, the proposers of the Member Section must provide a budget and work with OASIS Staff to create an analysis of the financial impact of dues allocation on the OASIS general fund in advance of the OASIS Board’s approval of the ROP, in order to help the OASIS Board make an informed decision. Further, the Member Section must have an approved annual budget that shows how Member Section Funds collected from all sources are used to further Member Section goals.

   Member Section Funds come from a variety of sources such as:

   1. a percentage of the income from OASIS membership dues paid by the Member Section Supporting Entities, allocated over the term of the membership;
   2. a percentage of the income from OASIS sponsorship fees for sponsoring the Member Section website, allocated over the term of the membership;
   3. grants of funds from OASIS Members or other funding sources for work that is in alignment with the scope of that Member Section;
   4. revenue from events conducted by the Member Section; and
   5. (in the case of acquisition of another organization by OASIS) any funds it may have previously held as a separate organization.

   In those Member Sections that accept dues allocations, Member Section Supporting Entities will have a portion of their OASIS Membership dues allocated to the Member Section as described above.

7. (g) Any provisions that apply to affiliated OASIS Technical Committees – The ROP must specify (i) the allowable IPR Modes and Languages to be included in Charters of Affiliated TCs, and (ii) any Member Section-wide TC Charter requirements as specified in Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting”.
8. (h) Any other provisions – The ROP may specify additional provisions that are not prohibited by this policy.

The proposers must review their ROP and financial justification (if applicable) with OASIS Staff. Once the RoP meets the requirements of this section, OASIS management will submit the ROP to the OASIS Board, before the next regularly scheduled OASIS Board meeting, for approval by the OASIS Board.

Once the ROP is approved by the OASIS Board, the Member Section is created, and new TCs which are to be affiliated with the Member Section may be created and/or existing OASIS TCs may choose to become affiliated with the Member Section.

3.3 Closure of a Member Section

When all TCs in a MS have completed their deliverables and no new work is planned to be chartered, the Steering Committee may vote to dissolve the Member Section. If at the time of any Steering Committee election there are less than three (3) Qualified Electors of the Member Section, the Member Section may be dissolved by the OASIS Board. If a Member Section is unable to maintain a minimum of three (3) members to serve on the Steering Committee, the Member Section must be closed. Closure may occur by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Steering Committee or by resolution of the OASIS Board if the Member Steering Committee is unable to act. Any Member Section Funds which exist at the time of closure shall be transferred to OASIS Net Assets. The balance of any unrecognized income will revert back to the OASIS General Operating Fund.

3.4 Removal of a Member Section Steering Committee Member

Member Section Steering Committee Members may be removed by vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast by the Member Section Qualified Electors in an electronic ballot. A Steering Committee Member may also be removed by resolution of the OASIS Board.

3.5 Activities of a Member Section Steering Committee

The following are activities of the Member Section Steering Committee:

1. (a) Must maintain a Rules of Procedure (ROP) document for the Member Section (as defined in Section 3.2, “Formation of a Member Section”).
2. (b) Must vote on the affiliation of any Technical Committee requesting to be affiliated with the Member Section.
3. (c) Must provide spokesperson(s) for press/analyst briefings, as coordinated by OASIS staff.
4. (d) (if the Member Section retains Member Section Funds) Must provide quarterly reports to OASIS management and to the Member Section Members on the actual and planned activities and expenses of the Member Section.
5. (e) (if the Member Section retains Member Section Funds) Must establish and maintain budgets and priorities for the disbursement of Member Section Funds. If there is a material change to the Member Section’s financial outlook during the year, the Steering Committee shall review and update (in consultation with OASIS management) the plans accordingly (see Section 8, “Financial and Management Reporting”).

In addition, the Steering Committee:

1. (f) May create and maintain content for Member Section website (if such exists), either using volunteers or external resource paid for by Member Section Funds (if available).
2. (g) If Member Section Funds are retained, must direct the use of such funds as approved and administered by OASIS management, including but not limited to the following expense categories:
   • Outside contractors;
   • Printing and design of collateral materials;
   • Conference participation;
   • Travel expenses for OASIS staff conducting work on behalf of the Member Section, pre-approved by the Member Section Steering Committee;
   • Dedicated IT and infrastructure costs;
   • Dedicated technical resources;
   • Professional fees specific to Member Section activities; and
   • OASIS memberships and other payments specific to the Member Section.

3.6 Activities of the Member Section Members

The following are the activities that the Members of a Member Section engage in:

1. (a) Vote in the election of Steering Committee Members (Qualified Electors only);
2. (b) Discuss and provide feedback on the overall direction and program of work of the Member Section activities; and
3. (c) Provide feedback to the Member Section Steering Committee on plans and decisions that the Steering Committee makes.

3.7 Activities of Affiliated Technical Committees

The Technical Committees that are affiliated with a Member Section are governed by the same set of policies that govern all OASIS TCs. See Section 6, “Technical Process, Management, Reporting” for details on affiliated Technical Committees.

4.0 Membership Model

4.1 OASIS Members are eligible to participate in any OASIS Technical Committee without prejudice or preference, regardless of (a) their designation as a Member Section Supporting Entity; or (b) whether the TC is affiliated with an OASIS Member Section.

4.2 OASIS Members may join a Member Section as a Supporting Entity at any time; however, a Member Section Supporting Entity may only withdraw from selected Member Section(s) by notification to OASIS Member Services:

1. (for Member Sections electing membership dues allocation) after at least 12 months of financial participation in the Member Section; or
2. (for Member Sections with no membership dues allocation) at any time.

4.3 Any allocation percentage of membership dues from Member Section Supporting Entities will be specified in that Member Section’s Rules of Procedure, subject to an annually agreed-upon budget approved by OASIS management and the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee during the annual budgeting process.

4.4 When an OASIS Member becomes a Supporting Entity of more than one OASIS Member Section (and more than one of these Member Sections has dues allocation to support their Member Section activities), the funding portion of that member’s dues will be distributed proportionally among all such Member Sections, based on the allocation percentage of each Member Section (as defined in that Member Section’s ROP).

4.5 All Member Section income and expenses will be tracked and managed in OASIS accounts. The portion of the funds designated for use by OASIS Member Sections will be tracked and managed by OASIS and will be subject to prior approval by OASIS management.

5.0 Governance

5.1 Governing Policies

Member Sections will operate in accordance with the OASIS Bylaws, their approved Rules of Procedure, and any other applicable OASIS policies, procedures, and guidelines. Once a Member Section Steering Committee is established at OASIS, it may modify its Member Section Rules of Procedure, subject to approval by the OASIS Board.

5.2 Member Section Steering Committees

Members of a Member Section Steering Committee must, at all times, be current eligible OASIS Members as well as Member Section Members. The manner in which Member Section Steering Committees are formed will be defined in each Member Section’s Rules of Procedure. The existing Steering Committee will conduct the election in an open, accountable manner, with oversight by OASIS Staff.

5.3 Qualified Electors within a Member Section

Voting in Member Section Steering Committee elections is restricted to Member Section Qualified Electors. Unless specified otherwise by the Member Section Rules of Procedure, the Member Section Qualified Elector will be the Supporting Entity’s Primary Representative unless the Primary Representative designates an alternate representative from the same Supporting Entity as the Primary Representative who is making the designation. Voting in any other elections, ballots, or votes that may be held by the Member Section is similarly restricted to Member Section Qualified Electors.

5.4 Steering Committee Operation

The Member Section Steering Committee will elect its own Chair, and set its own meeting schedule and agenda. A Vice-Chair may be elected to chair meetings in the absence of the Chair, or to succeed the Chair if that person becomes unable to fulfill his or her duties. A Steering Committee may elect a Treasurer from amongst its members. The Steering Committee Chair will be the primary point of contact for financial reporting and spending authorization, unless the Steering Committee has designated a Treasurer to fulfill this role.

The Steering Committee should conduct its meetings according to the precepts of Roberts Rules of Order. All members of the Steering Committee shall have voting rights within the Steering Committee.

5.5 Steering Committee Financial Responsibility

The Member Section Steering Committee will direct the expenditure of Member Section Funds (if available) to advance the mission of the Member Section. Expenditure of such funds is managed through an approved budget process, as described in Section 9. The Member Section Steering Committee may not sign contracts or execute legal papers; however, they may select and recommend consultants and contractors to be engaged by OASIS management. The Member Section may not engage in any activity that might jeopardize OASIS’ status as a tax-exempt organization.

5.6 Member Section Subcommittees

The Member Section Steering Committee may, by resolution, establish one or more subcommittees of the Member Section to perform or advise the Member Section regarding any function that the Member Section or its Steering Committee is permitted to perform. The duration, membership, chair (and optionally co-chair) and scope of a Member Section Subcommittee shall be set or provided for, and may be amended from time to time, by the Member Section Steering Committee; and shall be posted on the Member Section’s website as the Subcommittee’s charter. Members of any Member Section Subcommittee must, at all times, be current Eligible Persons.

Each Member Section Subcommittee shall conduct its meetings according to the precepts of Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised and this Policy. All members of a Member Section Subcommittee shall have voting rights within that Subcommittee.

A Member Section Subcommittee also may be established by the Rules of Procedure; thereafter, its duration, membership, chair (and optionally co-chair) and scope may be provided for, and amended from time to time, by the Member Section Steering Committee.

5.7 Visibility

The official copies of all resources of each Member Section, its Steering Committee and each Member Section Subcommittee, including web pages, documents, email lists and any other records of discussions, must be located only on facilities designated by OASIS. None of the above may conduct official business or technical discussions, store documents, or host web pages on servers or systems not designated by OASIS.

All web pages, documents, ballot results and email archives of the Member Section Steering Committee shall be visible to all OASIS Members; the Steering Committee may further decide to make such Steering Committee records visible to the public. All web pages, documents, ballot results and email archives of the Member Section and each Member Section Subcommittee shall be visible to the public; however, upon the request of the Member Section Steering Committee, the OASIS Board may designate that the resources of a specific Member Section Subcommittee shall be visible only to all OASIS Members. Any OASIS member should be able to post email to the official lists of the Member Section, its Steering Committee and each Member Section Subcommittee.

6.0 Technical Process, Management, Reporting

6.1 The OASIS TC Administrator will oversee all work done under the OASIS Technical Committee Process for TCs affiliated with the Member Section in the same manner and service it provides to the rest of OASIS and other similarly established OASIS Member Sections.

6.2 Technical Committees affiliated with a Member Section will abide by the OASIS Technical Committee Process and all other OASIS Policies and Bylaws.

6.3 OASIS TCs may become affiliated with at most one Member Section.

6.4 The Member Section Steering Committee will be given the opportunity to review the TC’s proposed charter, and may approve the new TC’s affiliation with the Member Section by a Member Section Steering Committee Special Majority Vote.

6.5 Existing TCs, formed prior to the existence of a Member Section or not initially affiliated with a Member Section, may apply for such affiliation if a Special Majority Vote of the TC to affiliate the existing TC passes. Such affiliation must then also be approved by a Member Section Steering Committee Special Majority Vote.

6.6 A Technical Committee approved to be affiliated with a Member Section may use a name associated with that Member Section as part of the TC’s name, which is specified in the TC Charter. OASIS TCs that are not approved for affiliation with a Member Section by that Member Section’s Steering Committee may not use the Member Section’s name or any name that could be confused with the Member Section’s name.

6.7 A TC affiliated with a Member Section may choose to become unaffiliated with that Member Section by a Special Majority Vote of the TC.  The MS Steering Committee may vote to terminate the affiliation of a TC for any reason at any time by a Member Section Steering Committee Special-Majority Vote. A TC that becomes unaffiliated with a Member Section must change the TC Name if that TC Name included the previously affiliated Member Section’s name or abbreviation of the Member Section’s name.

6.8 Additional TC requirements (as listed in this section) may be specified within a Member Section Rules of Procedure for inclusion within a TC’s Charter by Technical Committees affiliated with a Member Section, as long as they do not conflict with requirements of the OASIS Technical Committee Process, the Bylaws of OASIS or other policies adopted by the OASIS Board. The following are optional requirements that may be specified by the Member Section for inclusion within all affiliated Technical Committee charters:

• The IPR Mode of the affiliated TC
• The Language of choice of the affiliated TC

6.9 OASIS staff provides a central review for all Technical Committee work, including TCs affiliated with a Member Section, to identify potential conflicts or overlap with other committees or standards bodies, and to help build liaisons as appropriate.  Any liaisons established must conform to the published OASIS Liaison Policy. The Member Section may be responsible for coordinating the work among the TCs affiliated with their Member Section, if so specified in its ROP.

6.10 Member Section Rules of Procedure may include a requirement whereby the Member Section Steering Committee must vote (by a simple majority vote or by Member Section Steering Committee Special-Majority Vote) to allow an affiliated TC to vote on a Committee Specification submittal for approval as an OASIS Standard.

6.11 Member Section Rules of Procedure may include a requirement whereby the Member Section Steering Committee must approve (by a simple majority vote or by Member Section Steering Committee Special-Majority Vote) an affiliated TC’s request for submission of an OASIS Standard to another organization according to the OASIS Liaison Policy.

7.0 Staff Services

OASIS will provide the following services for the OASIS Member Sections in the same manner and service it provides to the rest of OASIS without preference or prejudice.

7.1 Web Hosting & Maintenance

7.1.1 OASIS will provide web hosting services for the OASIS Member Sections’ web sites.

7.1.2 OASIS will provide services for mail list hosting, on-line collaboration, document management and related services, and back up of all web and email data.

7.2 Membership Services

Membership services include, but are not limited to,

• managing acceptance and processing of membership agreements,
• creation and maintenance of the OASIS Member Section membership database,
• recruiting and expanding participation from both within the Consortium and externally, and
• provision of membership renewal services, web forms and technology to enable online membership application.

7.3 Accounting Services

7.3.1 Accounting services include, but are not limited to,

• processing member invoices and collection of all member payments,
• acceptance of online and manual credit card payments, checks and wire transfers made payable to OASIS, and
• revenue projections and reporting.

7.3.2 OASIS will approve and issue payments on behalf of the OASIS Member Section for expenses authorized and requested by the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee. The OASIS Member Section Steering Committee chair will be the primary point-of-contact for reporting and requesting payment unless the Steering Committee has designated a Treasurer to fulfill this role.

7.3.3 OASIS management will provide revenue projections, budgeting, and reporting to assist the Steering Committee to determine their funds available for expenditure.

7.3.4 All OASIS accounting records pertaining to the individual OASIS Member Section will be available for inspection by the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee.

7.4 Marketing and Public Relations Services

7.4.1 OASIS marketing and public relations support services include, but are not limited to,

• announcement of the formation of the OASIS Member Section,
• efforts to enlarge the media pool to address the needs of the OASIS Member Section,
• coordination of conference presentations by OASIS Member Section representatives,
• analyst briefings,
• coverage of activities in OASIS e-newsletters and Information Channels (Cover Pages and XML.org), and
• public announcements of new Technical Committee formations and milestones as appropriate.

7.4.2 The cost of marketing and promotional activities specific to the OASIS Member Sections will be paid from OASIS Member Section Funds (if any). This may include the attendance or participation of OASIS staff at an OASIS Member Section specific event, with such funds disbursement approved in advance by the Member Section Steering Committee.

7.4.3 Marketing of any Member Section brand and other marketing activities of the OASIS Member Section will be managed by the Member Section Steering Committee and funded from the OASIS Member Section Funds (if any) with input and oversight from OASIS management.  Public relations for the OASIS Member Sections will be conducted in accordance with OASIS practices and policies, including the OASIS Media Relations Policy.

8.0 Financial and Management Reporting

8.1 For those Member Sections retaining Member Section Funds, OASIS management will provide monthly financial statements to the Steering Committee Chair to support the management and operation of the OASIS Member Sections.

8.2 The OASIS Member Section Steering Committees will provide quarterly management reports on the actual and planned activities and expenses to OASIS management, including business reports, communications, and budget and activity forecasts as required by OASIS management as part of the normal course of business. The Member Section reports must be submitted before the end of the month following the recently completed quarter. These Member Section quarterly reports must also be posted to the designated document folders accessible to all Member Section Members or Observers.

9.0 Annual, Budget and Ad Hoc Reviews

9.1. All activities of the OASIS Member Sections, available Member Section Funds and projected income and expenses will be reviewed during the annual budgeting process by OASIS management and the OASIS Member Section Steering Committee to determine the proposed budget. All funds allocation percentages must be agreed upon by the Member Section and OASIS management.

9.2. Each Member Section retaining Member Section Funds is required to prepare a proposed budget each year for the following calendar year. This proposed budget must be submitted prior to December 1 of each year to OASIS Management for inclusion in the organizational budget, for approval by the OASIS Board. This approved budget shall be distributed to each Member Section Steering Committee.

9.3 If a Member Section does not expend its Member Section Funds according to its approved budget in the current year, or does not submit a draft expense budget for the next year according to Section 9.2 above, the OASIS Board may reduce or stop the allocation of membership dues to that Member Section until an acceptable spending plan is received and approved by the OASIS Board. In such a case, unallocated membership and sponsorship dues income will accrue during this period to the OASIS General Fund and will be lost to the Member Section.

9.4 In the November/December budget approval period of each year, the Uncommitted Member Section Funds status of all applicable Member Sections will be reviewed by the OASIS Board and management. Should the review conclude that a Member Section is holding Uncommitted Member Section Funds, the OASIS Board may transfer some or all of such funds to the OASIS Net Assets for use as the OASIS Board determines. In such a case, the Member Section Steering Committee shall be apprised of the proposed action and given the opportunity to present their views to the OASIS Board before a final funds transfer decision is made.

9.5 Ad Hoc Review. An ad hoc review of any OASIS Member Section activities, budget, and Member Section Funds may be undertaken at any time by OASIS management and/or the applicable OASIS Member Section Steering Committee.

Dates Approved:  Thu, 2009-03-26 Effective:  Thu, 2009-03-26

Table of Contents

1. Definitions 2. Technical Committees 2.1 TC Discussion Lists 2.2 TC Formation 2.3 First Meeting of a TC 2.4 TC Membership and Participation 2.5 Termination of TC Membership 2.6 Leaves of Absence 2.7 TC Chairs 2.8 TC Visibility 2.9 TC Procedure 2.10 TC Meetings 2.11 TC Charter Clarification 2.12 TC Rechartering 2.13 TC Voting 2.14 TC Subcommittees 2.15 Closing a TC 2.16 Reserved 2.17 Intellectual Property Rights Procedures 2.18 Specification Quality 2.19 Designated Cross-Reference Changes 2.20 Application to Existing TCs 3. Standards Approval Process 3.1 Approval of a Committee Draft 3.2 Public Review 3.3 Approval of a Committee Specification 3.4 Approval of an OASIS Standard 3.5 Approved Errata 4. Board of Directors Involvement in the Standards Process 4.1 OASIS TC Administrator 4.2 Appeals

Section 1. Definitions

1. “Approved Errata” shall have the meaning defined in Section 3.5.
2. “Charter” is the organizational document for a TC comprised of the items included in the proposal to form that TC, as defined in Section 2.2, and may be modified as described in Section 2.11.
3. “Committee Draft” is an interim document approved by a Technical Committee as specified in Section 3.
4. “Committee Specification” is a Public Review Draft that has completed public review and achieved final approval by a Technical Committee as specified in Section 3.
5. “Convener” is an Eligible Person who serves in the role of organizing the first meeting of the TC, as defined in Section 2.3.
6. “Eligible Person” means one of a class of individuals that includes (a) OASIS Individual Members, (b) employees or designees of OASIS Organizational Members, and (c) such other persons as may be designated by the OASIS Board of Directors.
7. “Errata” means a set of changes or proposed changes to a specification that are not Substantive Changes.
8. “Full Majority Vote” is a TC vote in which more than 50% (more than half) of the Voting Members vote “yes”, regardless of the number of Voting Members present in the meeting. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a TC in which there are 20 Voting Members, at least 11 Voting Members must vote “yes” for a motion to pass.
9. “IPR” means intellectual property rights.
10. “Leave of Absence” shall have the meaning defined in Section 2.6.
11. “Meeting” is a meeting of the TC that is properly called and scheduled in advance as described in Section 2.10.
12. “Member“, with respect to a TC, means an Eligible Person who is allowed to subscribe to the TC email list, participate in list discussions, attend and participate in TC meetings, and make Contributions to the TC. The process for becoming a Member of a TC is defined in Section 2.4.
13. “Minimum Membership” means five Voting Members of a TC (or, in the case of a TC about to be formed, five Eligible Persons), at least two of which represent OASIS Organizational Members.
14. “Normative Portion” shall have the meaning defined for such term by the OASIS IPR Policy.
15. “Normative Reference” means a reference in a specification to an external document or resource with which the implementer must comply, in order to comply with a Normative Portion of the specification.
16.  “OASIS Draft Deliverable” means any of the following: Working Drafts, Committee Drafts and Public Review Drafts.
17. “OASIS Final Deliverable” means any of the following: Committee Specifications, OASIS Standards and Approved Errata.
18. “OASIS Individual Member” means an OASIS Member who is classified as such in their executed Membership Agreement.
19. “OASIS Member” means a person, organization or entity who is a voting or non-voting member of the corporation, as defined by the OASIS Bylaws.
20. “OASIS Organizational Member” means an OASIS Member who is classified as such in their executed Membership Agreement.
21. “OASIS Standard” is a Committee Specification that has been submitted by a Technical Committee and reviewed and approved by the OASIS Membership as specified in Section 3.
22. “OASIS TC Administrator” means the person or persons representing OASIS in administrative matters relating to TCs.
23. “Observer” is an Eligible Person who is subscribed to the TC email list, and may attend TC meetings, but is not allowed to participate in TC email list discussions, participate or speak in TC meetings, or make Contributions to the TC. The process for becoming an Observer is defined in Section 2.4.
24. “Primary Representative“, for any OASIS Organizational Member, means the person or persons designated by that Member to serve as the consortium’s principal contact for administrative issues.
25. “Public” and “publicly” mean all persons, organizations and entities, whether or not OASIS Members.
26. “Public Review Draft” is a Committee Draft that has been approved by the TC to go to public review as specified in Section 3 of this Process.
27. “Quorum” is the number of Voting Members of a TC that must be present in a meeting so that Resolutions and decisions may be made. The Quorum for OASIS TC meetings is a simple majority (more than half) of Voting Members.
28. “Quorate Meeting” is a TC meeting at which a Quorum is present.
29. “Resolution” means a decision reached by a TC, SC or JC by vote. Resolutions require a Simple Majority Vote to pass, unless a Full Majority Vote or Special Majority Vote is required under this Process.
30. “Simple Majority Vote” is a vote in which the number of “yes” votes cast is greater than the number of “no” votes cast. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a quorate meeting in which 20 Voting Members are present, if 7 vote “yes” and 4 vote “no”, the motion passes.
31. “Special Majority Vote” is a TC vote in which at least 2/3 (two thirds) of the Voting Members vote ” yes” and no more than 1/4 (one fourth) of the Voting Members vote “no”. These numbers are based on the total number of Voting Members. Abstentions are not counted. For example, in a TC in which there are 30 Voting Members, at least 20 Voting Members must vote “yes” for a motion to pass; but if 8 or more vote “no” then the motion fails. All Special Majority Votes must be conducted via electronic ballot by the OASIS TC Administrator.
32. “Specification Approval Motion” is any motion to initiate a TC ballot to advance the status of a specification, including the approval of a Committee Draft, the approval of a Public Review Draft (initiating a Public Review), the approval of a Committee Specification, and the submission by the TC of a Committee Specification to OASIS for approval as an OASIS Standard.
33. “Specification Ballot” is any ballot on the approval of the technical content of a document work within the TC, such as the approval of a Committee Draft, start of Public Review, approval of Committee Specification, or submission of a Committee Specification to OASIS for approval as an OASIS Standard.
34. “Statement of Use“, with respect to a specification, is a written statement by an OASIS Organizational Member stating that it is successfully using or implementing that specification in accordance with the conformance clauses specified in Section 2.18, and stating whether its use included the interoperation of multiple independent implementations.
35. “Subcommittee“(or “SC”) is a group of Members of a TC producing recommendations for consideration by the parent TC.
36. “Substantive Change” is a change to a specification that would require a compliant application or implementation to be modified or rewritten in order to remain compliant.
37. “Technical Committee” (or “TC”) means a group comprised of at least the Minimum Membership formed and conducted according to the provisions of this OASIS TC Process.
38. “Voting Member” is a Member of a TC who has voting rights in the TC. The process for gaining voting rights is defined in Section 2.4.
39. “Working Draft” is any version of a specification or other document produced by the TC which has not yet received any level of approval from the TC.

The use of the term “day” or “days” in this TC Process refers to calendar days.

Section 2. Technical Committees

2.1. TC Discussion Lists

Any group of at least three Eligible Persons may begin a publicly subscribable discussion list for the purpose of forming a TC by submitting to the OASIS TC Administrator the following items:

(1) The name of the discussion list, which shall not be the same as the name of the list in which the TC itself shall operate if formed.

(2) A preliminary statement of scope for the TC whose formation the list is intended to discuss.

(3) The names, electronic mail addresses, and OASIS Organizational or Individual Membership affiliations of the three or more Eligible Persons proposing to create the discussion list.

(4) The name of the discussion list leader.

No later than 15 days following the submission, the OASIS TC Administrator shall provide these materials to the OASIS Membership with a Call For Participation in a discussion list whose purpose is to propose the TC described in the application.

Discussion on the list is restricted to evaluating the interest in proposing a new OASIS TC, and defining the proposal for one or more new OASIS TCs. The list of subscribers to the discussion list shall be available to all subscribers. The discussion list shall automatically close 90 days after the Call For Participation is issued.

2.2. TC Formation

Any group of at least Minimum Membership shall be authorized to begin a TC by submitting to the OASIS TC Administrator the following items, written in English and provided in electronic form as plain text. No information other than these items may be included in the proposal.

(1) The Charter of the TC, which includes only the following items:

(1)(a) The name of the TC, such name not to have been previously used for an OASIS TC and not to include any trademarks or service marks not owned by OASIS. The proposed TC name is subject to TC Administrator approval and may not include any misleading or inappropriate names. The proposed name must specify any acronyms or abbreviations of the name that shall be used to refer to the TC.

(1)(b) A statement of purpose, including a definition of the problem to be solved.

(1)(c) The scope of the work of the TC, which must be germane to the mission of OASIS, and which includes a definition of what is and what is not the work of the TC, and how it can be determined when the work of the TC has been completed. The scope may reference a specific contribution of existing work as a starting point, but other contributions may be made by TC Members on or after the first meeting of the TC. Such other contributions shall be considered by the TC Members on an equal basis to improve the original starting point contribution.

(1)(d) A list of deliverables, with projected completion dates.

(1)(e) Specification of the IPR Mode under which the TC will operate.

(1)(f) The anticipated audience or users of the work.

(1)(g) The language in which the TC shall conduct business.

(2) Non-normative information regarding the startup of the TC, which includes:

(2)(a) Identification of similar or applicable work that is being done in other OASIS TCs or by other organizations, why there is a need for another effort in this area and how this proposed TC will be different, and what level of liaison will be pursued with these other organizations.

(2)(b) The date, time, and location of the first meeting, whether it will be held in person or by telephone, and who will sponsor this first meeting. The first meeting of a TC shall occur no less than 30 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a meeting held exclusively by telephone or other electronic means, and no less than 45 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a meeting held face-to-face (whether or not a telephone bridge is also available).

(2)(c) The projected on-going meeting schedule for the year following the formation of the TC, or until the projected date of the final deliverable, whichever comes first, and who will be expected to sponsor these meetings.

(2)(d) The names, electronic mail addresses, and membership affiliations of at least Minimum Membership who support this proposal and are committed to the Charter and projected meeting schedule.

(2)(e) The name of the Convener who must be an Eligible Person.

(2)(f) The name of the Member Section with which the TC intends to affiliate, if any.

(2)(g) Optionally, a list of contributions of existing technical work that the proposers anticipate will be made to this TC.

(2)(h) Optionally, a draft Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document regarding the planned scope of the TC, for posting on the TC’s website.

(2)(i) Optionally, a proposed working title and acronym for the specification(s) to be developed by the TC.

No later than 5 days following the submission, the OASIS TC Administrator shall either return the submission to its originators, with an explanation indicating its failure to meet the requirements set forth in this section, or shall post notice of the submission to an announced mailing list (or equivalent method) visible to the submission proposers and the OASIS Membership, for comment.

The notice will announce that comments will be received until the 14th day after the notice, and will announce a date within 4 days of that 14th day for a conference call, among the Convener, the OASIS TC Administrator, and those proposers who wish to attend. Other OASIS Members who wish to attend may observe.

The proposer group may amend their submission at any time until the 28th day after the submission (except that changes to the roster of proposers may occur at any time until the final posting). By the 28th day the proposer group must post a pointer to an account of each of the comments / issues raised during that review, along with its resolution.

No later than the 30th day after the submission, if those pointers have been posted, and the last version of the submission from the proposer group meets the requirements of these rules, the OASIS TC Administrator must post them to the OASIS Membership with a Call For Participation and an announcement of a first meeting. Otherwise, the Convener may obtain a single 10-day extension for posting a compliant proposal with the OASIS TC Administrator.

2.3. First Meeting of a TC

Eligible Persons intending to participate in the first meeting must use the OASIS collaborative tools to register as a TC Member, and to specify whether they intend to gain voting rights, no later than 7 days prior to a meeting held exclusively by telephone (or other electronic means) or 15 days prior to a face to face meeting. No later than 7 days prior to the meeting, the OASIS TC Administrator will post a notice to the prospective Members on the TC’s general email list inviting indications of candidacy for TC Chair to be posted to that list.

If the Eligible Person is an employee or designee of an OASIS Organizational Member, the Primary Representative of that organization must confirm to the Convener and to the TC Administrator that the person may become a Member of the TC.

Every Eligible Person who has so registered and been confirmed shall be a Member of the TC beginning with the first meeting. Every Eligible Person who has so registered, requested voting rights, been confirmed, and is present at the first meeting of a TC shall be a Voting Member of the TC beginning with the first meeting. Persons who register to attend the first meeting but do not attend must notify the TC Chair after the first meeting to become a Member of the TC, as described in Section 2.4.

The first meeting of a TC must occur at the place and time and in the manner described in the announcement. Any initial meeting whose time or location is changed and any initial telephone or other electronic meeting that fails to grant access to every Eligible Person previously registering to attend shall be subject to appeal as provided in Section 4.2.

At least Minimum Membership must become Voting Members at the first TC meeting or the TC shall be considered not to have been successfully started and shall be closed.

At the first meeting the TC must elect a Chair as the first order of business, from among nominations made by Voting Members at that meeting. Once the Chair is elected the role of Convener ends.

2.4. TC Membership and Participation

TC membership is per person, not per organization, and is not transferable from person to person.

Observer: An Eligible Person may become an Observer of a TC by registering as an Observer using the electronic collaboration tools provided by OASIS. If the Eligible Person is an employee or designee of an OASIS Organizational Member, the Primary Representative of that organization must be notified that the person has requested to become an Observer. The Observer is not a TC Member so has no attendance or participation requirements to maintain this status, other than to remain an Eligible Person.

Member: Any time after the first meeting, an Eligible Person shall become a Member of an existing TC by registering as a Member using the electronic collaboration tools provided by OASIS. If the Eligible Person is an employee or designee of an OASIS organizational Member, the Primary Representative of that organization must confirm to the Chair and to the TC Administrator that the person may become a Member of the TC. Upon receipt by the Chair of confirmation by the Primary Representative the Member may begin participating, but shall not have voting rights. A Member shall become eligible to vote in the TC when the requirements below are met.

Voting Member: After the first Meeting of a TC, a Member shall gain voting rights at the close of the second consecutive Meeting attended by the Member or, if less than two Meetings are called within 60 days after the person becomes a Member, at the close of that 60th day. OASIS Individual Members and the representatives of OASIS Organizational Members are equally eligible to serve as Voting Members of a TC.

A Voting Member must be active in a TC to maintain voting rights. In TCs that hold Meetings, a Voting Member who is absent from two consecutive Meetings (as recorded in the minutes) loses his or her voting rights at the end of the second Meeting missed. If a TC has adopted a standing rule to conduct business only by electronic ballot, without Meetings, then a Voting Member who fails to cast a ballot in two consecutive Specification Ballots loses his or her voting rights at the close of the second ballot missed.

A TC Member who has lost his or her voting rights shall regain them for a TC that holds Meetings by attending two consecutive Meetings (as recorded in the minutes), thus regaining voting rights after the end of the second Meeting attended or, if less than two Meetings are called within 60 days after the loss of such rights, at the close of that 60th day. A Member of a TC that does not hold Meetings may regain voting rights by making a request to the chair(s) to regain them, effective at the close of the 60th day after the request.

Voting Members who lose their voting rights remain Members of the TC. A warning may be sent to the Member by the Chair, but the loss of voting rights is not dependent on the warning.

2.5 Termination of TC Membership

Except as provided in Section 2.6, membership in an OASIS TC shall be terminated under the following conditions:

(1) A Member shall be considered to have resigned from a TC upon his sending notification of resignation to the TC general email list.

(2) Persons who lose Eligible Person status for reasons including, but not limited to, change of employment shall have up to 15 days of TC membership as an OASIS Individual Member in which to request a Leave of Absence or re-establish eligibility. A Member shall lose TC membership on the 16th day after losing Eligible Person status or at the end of a Leave of Absence requested as specified in Section 2.6 if Eligible Person status has not been re-established.

Termination of membership in an OASIS TC shall automatically end voting rights in the TC as well as membership in any subcommittee of that TC, and eligibility to represent that TC in a JC.

2.6 Leaves of Absence

Every Voting Member of an OASIS TC shall be entitled to at least one Leave of Absence during any one twelve month period. During a Leave of Absence, a Voting Member shall be exempt from the participation criteria specified in Section 2.4. A first Leave of Absence during any one twelve month period shall be obtained automatically upon application to the Chair of the TC. The Chair must notify the TC of all Leaves of Absence by reporting them in the minutes of the TC’s next meeting.

A Voting Member who has already been granted a Leave of Absence during any twelve month period may apply for a maximum of one additional Leave of Absence during the same twelve month period, but a second Leave of Absence during any twelve month period shall be granted only upon formal Resolution of the TC.

A Voting Member of a TC who has been granted a Leave of Absence shall not have voting rights in the TC and all of its subcommittees for the duration of the Leave; voting rights shall resume immediately upon the person returning from Leave.

The length of a Leave of Absence shall be specified in advance by the Voting Member requesting it and shall not exceed 45 days. A Leave of Absence shall begin no earlier than seven days after the date upon which the request was delivered to the Chair of the TC and shall end on the date specified, or at the beginning of the first TC meeting or subcommittee meeting attended after the Leave begins, or upon transmittal of the first mail ballot returned after the Leave begins, whichever comes first. Time allocated for a Leave of Absence but not used due to early resumption of participation cannot be carried over into another Leave.

2.7. TC Chairs

Each TC must have a Chair. Only Members and Voting Members of the TC are eligible to be Chair or co-Chair. The TC Chair is initially elected at the first meeting. The Chair is elected by Full Majority Vote of the TC. If the TC does not have a Chair then all TC activities, with the exception of the selection of a new Chair, are suspended; if the TC does not have a Chair for 120 days, the TC Administrator must close the TC.

The responsibilities of Chair of a TC may be discharged by no more than two co-Chairs. In the event that the Chair position is so shared each co-Chair is equally responsible for the Chair duties and responsibilities. Throughout this TC Process, whenever a notification to the TC Chair is required this must be made to both co-Chairs.

A TC Chair may be removed by action of the Board of Directors or by a Special Majority Vote of the TC. In the event that a TC has co-Chairs each may be removed individually or both may be removed by a single action.

A vacancy in chairing a TC shall be deemed to exist when (i) the Chair or one or both co-Chairs has been removed, (ii) the Chair or one or both co-Chairs has resigned the position, or (iii) the Chair or one or both co-Chairs ceases to be a Member of the TC. Vacancies in chairing a TC shall be filled by election from the TC Members; the TC may elect at any time by vote to elect a co-Chair, if only one Chair is seated, or to leave a second seat vacant. Any TC chair or co-chair election shall be by Full Majority Vote of the TC, with each winning candidate having received a full majority vote regardless of the number of candidates.

The same provisions regarding Leaves of Absence shall apply to the Chair or co-Chair of a TC as to the other TC Members, except the Chair must notify both the OASIS TC Administrator and the TC at least 30 days prior to any non-emergency leave of absence.

2.8 TC Visibility

The official copies of all resources of the TC and its associated subcommittees, including web pages, documents, email lists and any other records of discussions, must be located only on facilities designated by OASIS. TCs and SCs may not conduct official business or technical discussions, store documents, or host web pages on servers or systems not designated by OASIS. All web pages, documents, ballot results and email archives of all TCs and SCs shall be publicly visible.

Mail Lists: Each TC shall be provided upon formation with a general discussion email list and a means to collect public comments. Subscription to the general email list shall be required for Members, Voting Members, and Observers of the TC.

The minutes of each TC meeting and a record of all decisions shall be published to that TC’s general email list. All official communications and discussions of the TC must take place on the email list. All TC email lists shall be archived for the duration of the corporation, and all TC email archives shall be publicly visible.

The purpose of the TC’s public comment facility is to receive comments from the public and is not for public discussion. Comments shall be publicly archived, and shall be forwarded to one or more Members of the TC including the TC Chair. TCs shall not be required to respond to comments. Comments to the TC made by Members of the TC must be made via the TC general email list, and comments made by non-TC members, including from the public, must be made via the TC’s comment facility. Comments shall not be accepted via any other means.

Web Pages: The OASIS TC Administrator shall provide the TC with a publicly accessible web page. The TC must keep the following information current on the TC web page: the TC name and Charter; standing rules and other adopted procedures; meeting schedule; anticipated deliverables and delivery dates; list of TC Members; the name and email address of the TC Chair or co-Chairs as well as other positions such as secretary, editor, etc. that may exist; list of subcommittees, their deliverables, and members; links to a repository of the draft and completed TC documents with identification of the latest versions of the TC’s specifications; and a link to the IPR declarations for that TC.

Announcements: The OASIS TC Administrator shall create a publicly archived list for announcements from the OASIS TC Administrator regarding TCs. Any Eligible Person shall be able to subscribe to this list. Every important change in TC status shall be posted to the announcement list; such changes shall include but not be limited to the following: TC formation; TC Charter revision; start of Public Review; approval of Committee Specifications; submission of a Committee Specification as a proposed OASIS Standard; approval or rejection of a proposed OASIS Standard; start or end of participation in a joint committee; and closure of a TC.

2.9 TC Procedure

The operation of TCs shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, insofar as such rules are not inconsistent with or in conflict with this TC Process, the OASIS IPR Policy, the OASIS Bylaws, other Board-approved policies, or with provisions of law. The duration of a TC shall be considered a single session. Formal actions of TCs shall be governed by the same rules regardless of the language in which the work is taking place.

Standing rules may be adopted by Full Majority Vote of the TC. The TC may not adopt standing rules or other Resolutions related to IPR, quorum requirements, membership, voting, participation, or that otherwise conflict with or supersede any OASIS Board-approved policy. Standing rules must be communicated to the TC Administrator, who may override them if they are in conflict with OASIS policy, and must be published on the TC’s web page.

2.10 TC Meetings

TC meetings must be properly called and scheduled in advance using the OASIS electronic collaborative tools. Meetings scheduled or conducted in such a manner as to exclude the participation of any Member is subject to appeal. Meetings may be conducted face-to-face or via telephone conference or other electronic media that allow participation of all Members of the TC. In order to enable the openness of TC proceedings, meetings should be scheduled and conducted so as to permit the presence of as many TC Observers as is logistically feasible. Meeting minutes must be recorded and published to the TC’s general email list and referenced on the TC web page.

Without a quorum present discussions may take place but no business may be conducted; those present may act as a “Committee of the Whole” as defined in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, and make a report to the entire TC. Attendance must be recorded in the meeting minutes. Meetings without quorum shall still count towards attendance for purposes of Members gaining, maintaining, or losing voting rights.

2.11 TC Charter Clarification

A TC may clarify its Charter only for the purpose of removing ambiguity or for narrowing the scope of the topic defined by the Charter. The TC may not broaden or otherwise change its scope of the topic of work. The list of deliverables may be expanded only if the new deliverables are within the scope of the topic.

Approval for clarification shall require a Special Majority Vote of the TC. The clarification of the Charter may occur no earlier than the first meeting of the TC. The TC Chair shall notify the TC Administrator that a motion has been made to clarify the Charter, and the TC Administrator shall set up and conduct the ballot.

The TC Administrator may prevent the proposed clarification from coming to vote if it is not in conformance with OASIS policies. The TC Administrator must within 15 days either open the ballot or reply to the TC with the reason why the change cannot be voted upon. The clarified Charter shall not take effect until approved and announced by the TC Administrator. The TC Administrator shall publicize approved changes as specified in Section 2.8 and any revisable publicly visible description (e.g., web page) promulgated by the TC shall be updated to reflect such changes.

2.12 TC Rechartering

A TC may be rechartered for purposes of expanding the scope of the TC. The TC shall retain the name of the predecessor, and all email lists and archives, web pages, etc. shall move from the predecessor TC to the rechartered TC. However, any Contributions made to the previous TC must be recontributed.

The rechartering may not change the IPR Mode of the TC; if a different IPR Mode is required then a new TC (with a unique name) must be formed.

A proposal to recharter the TC must be submitted to the TC Administrator, which proposal shall be in all respects the same as a proposal to form a new TC with the exception that the TC name and IPR Mode shall be the same as the predecessor TC. The TC Administrator shall reply to the proposers within 15 days, and if the proposal is complete shall schedule a ballot. Approval for rechartering shall require a Special Majority Vote of the TC being rechartered.

Upon approval of the ballot, the TC Administrator shall announce the newly rechartered TC in the same manner as a new TC. Membership in the rechartered TC shall be determined in the same manner as for a new TC. The predecessor TC shall be closed at the end of the day prior to the date of the first meeting of the rechartered TC. The time period for determining Members’ Participation Obligation shall restart at the first meeting of the new TC.

2.13 TC Voting

TC votes require a Simple Majority Vote to pass, except as noted elsewhere in this Process. All TC ballots requiring a Special Majority Vote for approval must be conducted by the TC Administrator; the TC Chair shall notify the TC Administrator that a motion has been made which requires a Special Majority Vote, and the TC Administrator shall set up and conduct the ballot.

Eligibility: A Member of a TC must have voting rights to make or second a motion, and must have voting rights at the time a ballot is opened in order to vote on that ballot. Every Voting Member of a TC has a single vote. Organizations do not vote in TCs. Proxies shall not be allowed in TC voting.

Electronic Voting: TCs may conduct electronic ballots, either by using the TC’s general mail list or the publicly archived electronic voting functionality provided by OASIS. The minimum period allowed for electronic voting shall be seven days; the TC may specify a longer voting period for a particular electronic ballot. Any Specification Ballot conducted as an electronic ballot must permit each voter to choose “yes”, “no” or “abstain.”

A motion to open an electronic ballot must be made in a TC meeting unless the TC has adopted a standing rule to allow this motion to be made on the TC’s general email list. When such a rule has been adopted, motions made on the mail list must also be seconded and discussed on that list.

2.14 TC Subcommittees

The TC may by Resolution create a subcommittee (SC). The Resolution must be minuted, and must include the name, statement of purpose, list of deliverables, and name of the Chair of the SC. All of these items must fall within the Charter of the TC and conform to OASIS policy.

The deliverables of the SC are made only to the TC. Members of the SC must first be Members of the TC. Observers of a TC may be Observers of a SC, but may not become SC members without first becoming a Member of the TC. An SC member may resign from the SC and remain a Member of the TC.

2.15 Closing a TC

A TC may be closed by Full Majority Vote of the TC, by Resolution of the OASIS Board of Directors, or by the OASIS TC Administrator.

The TC Administrator must close a TC that has completed the deliverables listed in its Charter if the TC does not add new deliverables or that fails to elect a Chair for the period provided in Section 2.7.

The TC Administrator may close a TC that fails to conduct at least one Quorate Meeting or conduct any Specification Ballots during any six month period; whose membership falls below the Minimum Membership; which has not completed its deliverables within the schedule listed in its Charter; or which has failed to show progress towards achieving its purpose as defined by its Charter.

2.16 [reserved]

2.17 Intellectual Property Rights Procedures

The TC shall operate in accordance with the OASIS Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy.

Notices of Disclosed Claims, as defined in and required by the OASIS IPR Policy, shall be made by sending an email message to the TC Administrator, who shall post the disclosure on the TC’s web page and notify the TC via the TC general email list. The TC shall make no formal decision with regard to the applicability or validity of an IPR disclosure.

Contributions, as defined in the OASIS IPR Policy, shall be made by sending to the TC’s general email list either the contribution, or a notice that the contribution has been delivered to the TC’s document repository; a URL or other reference to the document is not sufficient. Written contributions must be converted to electronic format and delivered to the TC’s general email list or document repository. The TC is not required to acknowledge or use any Contribution.

2.18 Specification Quality

All documents and other files produced by the TC, including specifications at any level of approval, must use the OASIS file naming scheme, and must include the OASIS copyright notice. All document files must be written using the OASIS document authoring templates, which shall be published and maintained by the TC Administrator. The name of any specification may not include any trademarks or service marks not owned by OASIS.

A specification that is approved by the TC at the Public Review Draft, Committee Specification or OASIS Standard level must include a separate section, listing a set of numbered conformance clauses, to which any implementation of the specification must adhere in order to claim conformance to the specification (or any optional portion thereof).

A specification that is approved by the TC at any level must include a list of people who participated in the development of the specification. This list shall be initially compiled by the Chair, and any Member of the TC may add or remove their names from the list by request.

A specification that is approved by the TC at any level must clearly indicate whether each reference in the specification to a document or artifact is a Normative Reference.

Editable formats of all versions of TC documents must be delivered to the TC’s document repository. TC Working Drafts may be in any format (i.e. produced by any application). All TC-approved versions of documents (i.e. Committee Drafts, Public Review Drafts, and Committee Specifications) must be delivered to the TC’s document repository in the (1) editable source, (2) HTML or XHTML, and (3) PDF formats; and the TC must explicitly designate one of those delivered formats as the authoritative document. Any links published by the TC shall be to the HTML, XHTML and/or PDF formats stored using repositories and domain names owned by OASIS and as approved by the TC Administrator.

All schema and XML instances, whether by inclusion or by reference, including fragments of such, must be well formed. All expressions must be valid. Each schema and XML instance that is part of the specification must be delivered in its own separate plain text file.

A specification may be composed of any number of files of different types, though any such multi-part specification must have a single specification name and version number. Irrespective of the number and status of the constituent parts, the specification as a whole must be approved by a single TC ballot. Any change made to a specification requires a new version or revision number, except for changes made to (a) the title page, (b) the running header/footer, (c) the approval status, (d) the date, (e) the URIs of the specification as appropriate, and (f) any Designated Cross-Reference Changes, all of which must be made after the approval of the specification.

2.19 Designated Cross-Reference Changes

A TC wishing to update the Normative References or Non-Normative References in one of its OASIS specifications to reflect the outcome of a pending status change in another OASIS specification may do so, by adopting a “Designated Cross-Reference Change” as part of its Specification Approval Motion, which must include: (a) a list designating each of the other OASIS specifications (including version number) that are referenced by that Specification and whose cross-references should conditionally be updated; (b) a reference to this Section 2.19; and (c) an acknowledgement that approval and publication of the specification may be delayed by the Designated Cross-Reference Changes.

The text of a proposed Designated Cross-Reference Change to a specification must include and may only include: the name, version and revision number; expected approval status; date; and URI for each other specification to be cross-referenced.The effectiveness of a proposed Designated Cross-Reference Change in a specification is conditioned on the resolution of the expected approval action for each cross-referenced specification. Therefore, if a Specification Approval Motion includes proposed Designated Cross-Reference Changes, the effectiveness of the subject specification’s approval will be delayed until the resolution of all other cross-referenced specification approval actions. The TC Administrator will withhold announcement and certification of the specification itself until all such cross-referenced resolutions are complete.

If the Specification Approval Motion (which includes Designated Cross-Reference Changes) passes, then, when the last cross-referenced approval is resolved, the final approved version will be published with all of its conditional descriptions of the cross-referenced specifications updated to reflect their correct status at that time.

2.20 Application to Existing TCs

This TC Process applies to previously established TCs upon its adoption.

Section 3. Standards Approval Process

3.1 Approval of a Committee Draft

The TC may at any stage during development of a specification approve the specification as a Committee Draft. The approval of a Committee Draft shall require a Full Majority Vote of the TC. The TC may approve a specification, revise it, and re-approve it any number of times as a Committee Draft.

3.2. Public Review

Before the TC can approve its Committee Draft as a Committee Specification the TC must conduct a public review of the work. The decision by the TC to submit the specification for public review requires a Full Majority Vote, and must be accompanied by a recommendation from the TC of external stakeholders who should be notified of the review. The Committee Draft approved to go to review shall be called a Public Review Draft. The public review must be announced by the TC Administrator to the OASIS Membership list and optionally on other public mail lists; the TC Administrator shall at the same time issue a call for IPR disclosure.

Comments from non-TC Members must be collected via the TC’s archived public comment facility; comments made through any other means shall not be accepted. The TC must acknowledge the receipt of each comment, track the comments received, and publish to its primary e-mail list the disposition of each comment at the end of the review period.

No changes may be made to the Public Review Draft during a review. If changes are required the specification must be withdrawn from review then resubmitted.

The TC may conduct any number of review cycles (i.e. approval to send a Committee Draft to Public Review, collecting comments, making edits to the specification, etc.). The first public review of a specification must take place for a minimum of 60 days, and any subsequent reviews must be held for a minimum of 15 days. Changes made to a specification after a review must be clearly identified in any subsequent review, and the subsequent review shall be limited in scope to changes made in the previous review. Before starting another review cycle the specification must be re-approved as a Committee Draft and then approved to go to public review by the TC.

If Substantive Changes are made to the specification after the public review, whether as a result of public review comments or from TC Member input, then the TC must conduct another review cycle. The specification may not be considered for approval by the TC as a Committee Specification until it has undergone a review cycle during which it has received no comments that result in Substantive Changes to the specification.

3.3 Approval of a Committee Specification

After the public review of a Public Review Draft the TC may approve the specification as a Committee Specification. If any comments have been received during the most recent Public Review period, that vote may not commence any earlier than 7 days after the last day of that Public Review. The approval of a Committee Specification shall require a Special Majority Vote. The TC Chair shall notify the TC Administrator that the TC is ready to vote on the approval of the specification, and provide to the TC Administrator the location of the editable versions of the specification files. The TC Administrator shall set up and conduct the ballot to approve the Committee Specification.

3.4 Approval of an OASIS Standard

Simultaneously with the approval of a Committee Specification or at a later date, and after three Statements of Use have been presented to the TC, a TC may resolve by Special Majority Vote to submit the Committee Specification to the Membership of OASIS for consideration as an OASIS Standard. Upon resolution of the TC to submit the specification, its Chair shall submit the following items to the TC Administrator:

(a) Links to the approved Committee Specification in the TC’s document repository, and any appropriate supplemental documentation for the specification, both of which must be written using the OASIS templates. The specification may not have been changed between its approval as a Committee Specification and its submission to OASIS for consideration as an OASIS Standard, except for the changes on the title page and running footer noting the approval status and date.

(b) The editable version of all files that are part of the Committee Specification;

(c) Certification by the TC that all schema and XML instances included in the specification, whether by inclusion or reference, including fragments of such, are well formed, and that all expressions are valid;

(d) A clear English-language summary of the specification;

(e) A statement regarding the relationship of this specification to similar work of other OASIS TCs or other standards developing organizations;

(f) The Statements of Use presented above;

(g) The beginning and ending dates of the public review(s), a pointer to the announcement of the public review(s), and a pointer to an account of each of the comments/issues raised during the public review period(s), along with its resolution;

(h) An account of and results of the voting to approve the specification as a Committee Specification, including the date of the ballot and a pointer to the ballot;

(i) An account of or pointer to votes and comments received in any earlier attempts to standardize substantially the same specification, together with the originating TC’s response to each comment;

(j) A pointer to the publicly visible comments archive for the originating TC;

(k) A pointer to any minority reports delivered by one or more Members who did not vote in favor of approving the Committee Specification, which report may include statements regarding why the member voted against the specification or that the member believes that Substantive Changes were made which have not gone through public review; or certification by the Chair that no minority reports exist.

The above submission must be made by the 15th of any month to the TC Administrator, who shall have until the end of the month to complete administrative processing and checking for completeness and correctness of the submission. If the submission is incomplete it shall be rejected but may be resubmitted at a later time.

The TC that originated the specification may resolve by Special Majority Vote to withdraw the proposed specification at any point after it is submitted to the TC Administrator for administrative processing and before the start of the voting period. No part of the submission may be changed or altered in any way after being submitted to the TC Administrator, including by Errata or corrigenda. Errata, corrigenda or other changes to a Committee Specification are not permitted after its submission for OASIS Standard approval; if changes are required the Committee Specification must be withdrawn by the TC, edited, re-approved as a Committee Specification, and then may be resubmitted as a proposed OASIS Standard. Proposed changes of any kind to a Committee Draft or Committee Specification may be maintained by a Technical Committee, but do not have any approval status until incorporated into a revised Committee Draft or Committee Specification.

The TC Administrator shall submit the proposal to the OASIS Membership by the first day of the following month. The first 15 days of that month shall be used by the membership to familiarize themselves with the submission. Voting shall start on the 16th of the month. The voting representatives of those OASIS Organizational Members who were members at the beginning of the familiarization period are eligible to vote, and must cast their ballots by the end of the month.

In votes upon proposed OASIS Standards, each OASIS Organizational Member shall be entitled to cast one vote. Votes shall be cast via the publicly archived electronic voting facility supplied by OASIS. Ballots shall be publicly visible during voting and may be changed up until the end of the voting period. The results of a vote on a proposed standard shall be provided to the membership and to the TC no later than seven days following the close of the voting period.

If at the end of the voting period at least 15 percent of the voting OASIS Membership has voted to approve the proposed standard, and if no votes have been cast to disapprove the proposed standard, it shall become an OASIS Standard immediately following the end of the voting period. If negative votes have been cast amounting to 25 percent or more of the votes cast, or if less than 15 percent of the voting OASIS Membership has cast positive votes to approve the proposed standard, the ballot is deemed to have failed and the submission fails.

However, if negative votes are cast amounting to less than 25 percent of the votes that have been cast, the TC shall be notified of the negative votes, after which the TC shall have 30 days to take one of the following actions by Resolution of a Special Majority Vote: (a) request the TC Administrator to approve the specification as submitted despite the negative votes; (b) withdraw the submission entirely; or (c) submit an amended specification, in which case the amended submission shall be considered as if it were a new submission, except that information regarding previous votes and any disposition of comments received in previous votes shall accompany the amended submission. If the originating TC upon notification of negative votes takes no formal action within the 30 days allocated for consideration of the results, then the specification shall not become an OASIS Standard.

Failure of a ballot for any reason shall not prevent a later version of the same specification from being submitted again as specified in this section.

No changes may be made to the specification after approval as an OASIS Standard except for the changes on the title page and running footer noting the approval status and date.

3.5 Approved Errata

A TC may approve a set of Errata to an OASIS Standard as “Approved Errata” to the corrected specification by:

(a) Adopting the set of proposed corrections as a Committee Draft, in the form of a list of changes, and optionally accompanied by a copy of the original specification text marked to incorporate the proposed changes.

(b) Confirming by Full Majority Vote that the proposed corrections do not constitute a Substantive Change.

(c) Submitting the proposed corrections for a 15-day public review, and completing that review, pursuant to Section 3.3.

(d) After the public review, confirming the proposed corrections as Approved Errata by a Full Majority Vote.

Once approved, the Approved Errata shall be with the specification it corrects, in any publication of that specification. Disposition of Approved Errata must be identified in the subsequent Public Review Draft of the corrected specification.

A TC may not adopt Approved Errata to an OASIS Standard more than once in any consecutive six-month period.

Section 4. Board of Directors Involvement in the Standards Process

4.1 OASIS TC Administrator

The “OASIS TC Administrator,” as defined in Section 1 of this TC Process, shall act as the Technical Committee Liaison to the Board for the purpose of keeping the Board apprised of activities related to the TC Process. The specific duties of the TC Liaison shall be specified by the Board in consultation with the TC Administrator but shall, at a minimum, provide for the submission to the Board of a notice when a proposal has been received for the creation of a new TC and when a TC submits a Committee Specification to OASIS for consideration as an OASIS Standard. Such notice shall be delivered via email to the Board immediately upon the receipt of the submission by the TC Administrator. The TC Administrator shall also send a copy of proposals for the creation of new TCs to the Technical Advisory Board (TAB) for their comment.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this TC Process, upon majority vote of the members of the Board at a meeting thereof duly called and constituted, the creation of a new TC may be prevented, or a proposed OASIS Standard may be withheld from voting by OASIS membership; the proposal or the submission shall be returned to the proposers or the sponsoring TC for additional consideration, with an explanation of the reasons for such action.

The Board of Directors may amend this TC Process at any time and from time to time at its sole discretion.

4.2 Appeals

Any group of three or more Eligible Persons who believe that an action taken or not taken by or with respect to TCs, or actions taken or not taken by the TC Administrator, is in violation of the procedures set forth in this TC Process or OASIS policies specified by the OASIS Board of Directors may appeal such action or inaction. Appellants shall file a complaint within 30 days of the action being appealed or at any time with respect to an inaction. The complaint shall state the nature of the objection(s), including any direct and material adverse effects upon the appellants; the section(s) of this TC Process or OASIS policies at issue; the actions or inactions at issue; and the specific remedial action(s) that would satisfy the appellants’ concerns. Previous efforts to resolve the objection(s) and the outcome of each shall be noted. Appeals regarding actions of a TC must be made to the TC Administrator. Appeals regarding actions of the TC Administrator must be made to the Chairman of the OASIS Board of Directors.

In the case of an appeal to the TC Administrator: within 15 days of receipt of the complaint, the TC Administrator shall provide a copy of the complaint to the TC; and within 30 days of such receipt, shall respond to the appellants, with a copy to the TC, addressing each allegation of fact in the complaint to the extent of the TC Administrator’s knowledge. If the appellants and the TC Administrator are unable to resolve the complaint within 15 days following the response, the TC Administrator shall notify the Chairman of the Board of Directors, who shall follow the procedure below.

In the case of an appeal to the Board, within 15 days of receipt of the complaint, the Chairman of the Board shall provide a copy of the complaint to the TC; and within 30 days of such receipt, shall respond to the appellants, with a copy to the TC, addressing each allegation of fact in the complaint to the extent of the Board’s knowledge. If this response is not acceptable to the appellants they may request a hearing before the OASIS Board of Directors at the next regular Board meeting. In such a hearing, appellants shall have the burden of demonstrating adverse effects, improper action or inaction, and the efficacy of the requested remedial action. The Board shall render its decision within 30 days. The decision of the Board shall be final.

The OASIS Board of Directors has the authority to effect such remedial action as may be necessary to remedy a complaint brought under this TC Process.

Dates Approved:  Thu, 2008-06-19 Effective:  Sun, 2008-07-13