FW: [chairs] [Fwd: New requirements on Individual Members]

["Considine, Toby (Facilities Technology Office)" <Toby.Considine@fac.unc.edu>]

OASIS is updating ints intellectual property (IP) policy in a process that
is open for review until September 10.  I encourage each individua members
to consider the effects this policy has on you, and to make comments and
raise concerns during this period.

My first reaction to this change was annoyance, and that it would drive down
participation.  It was soon pointed out to me, that this is a legal - not an
organizational issue. If you are an employee and don't own your own IP then
you can't legally assign it to OASIS.  Therefore - if you are under such an
employment contract you do have to check with your employer before joining.
If you don't do this and the rights are assigned - there is a legitimate
legal challenge against OASIS and oBIX and we could be forced to pay license
fees or withdraw the standard.  

One of the goals of the process that led to OASIS was that we be hosted in
an organization that had a defined IP policy. I encourage you to apprise
yourselves of the proposed changes to OASIS IPR rules and to consult with
your employers what if any impact these might have on you and participation
in the TC. I also strongly encourage you to raise concerns ASAP to OASIS via
the ipr-member-review@lists.oasis-open.org before the end of the comment
period (September 10).

Please let me know if you would like to discuss this during next Tuesday's
TC telecon.

Tc

Toby Considine
Chair, OASIS oBIX TC
===================================================
"It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and 
another to put him in possession of 
truth." --John Locke
===================================================
Toby Considine         | Phone (919)962-9073
Facilities Services    | Fax (919)962-1102
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC        | Toby.Considine@fac.unc.edu
===================================================

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Hanna [mailto:shanna@funk.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 08:48
To: OASIS Chairs
Subject: [chairs] [Fwd: New requirements on Individual Members]

Other OASIS chairs,

I suspect you may not be aware of the major changes in requirements for
Individual Members included in the recent proposed IPR Policy. Individual
Membership would no longer be available to anyone whose IP is owned by his
or her employer (as required by most employment agreements).

Please review my comments below. Whatever your opinions on this topic, I
encourage you to submit comments to ipr-member-review@lists.oasis-open.org
before the end of the comment period (September 10).
I also encourage you to inform your TCs of this proposed change and
encourage your members to submit comments on this or any other aspects of
the proposed revised IPR Policy.

For your reference, the draft IPR Policy is at
http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/members-only/download.php/7515
and the FAQ is at
http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/members-only/download.php/7554

Thanks,

Steve Hanna
Co-chair, OASIS PKI TC

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: New requirements on Individual Members
Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2004 11:37:14 -0400
From: Steve Hanna <shanna@funk.com>
To: ipr-member-review@lists.oasis-open.org

The new proposed IPR Policy includes a most unwelcome and unfortunate
change. Here's the text in the FAQ that describes it:

3.6. Are there changes to the eligibility rules
      for Individual members?

      Yes. If an individual's IP is owned by his or her
      employer, (as is required by most employment agreements),
      he or she will be unable to continue to participate under
      the OASIS Individual Membership level.

In my view, this change would be an awful mistake.
Here are three reasons why:

1) Individual Members are among the most enthusiastic
    and energetic members of my TC and many others.

2) For many organizations, Individual Membership is
    a path to Organizational Membership. They start
    by having one Individual Member. Then several
    more join and their management sees that OASIS
    is important to their business.

3) Making this change would make OASIS less open,
    ensuring that only organizations or unemployed
    individuals can participate.

The FAQ states that this change is being made "to ensure that Contributions
have clear licensing obligations and that licenses are available to
implement all OASIS Standards and specifications."

I support this goal but I think it could better be achieved by requiring
Individual Members whose IP is owned by their employers to have those
employers sign documents agreeing to the necessary obligations.

Thanks,

Steve Hanna
Co-chair, OASIS PKI TC




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