M1/02-0012

Overview
January 16, 2002

Kate McMillan, Director INCITS Secretariat

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About INCITS
The InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) is the forum of choice for information technology developers, producers and users for the creation and maintenance of formal de jure IT standards. INCITS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and operates under its rules, which are designed to ensure that voluntary standards are developed by the consensus of directly and materially affected interests.

Standards
A standard is a definition or a format that falls into one of two categoriesa de facto standard or a de jure standard. Standards such as GIF and Windows, both of which are in large use in the market and associated with particular companies, are examples of de facto standards The most widely used web browsers are also de facto standards.

De Jure Standards
A de jure standard reflects the collaborative efforts of vendors and consumers on specifications and involves ground rules to prevent antitrust and intellectual property rights violations. By historical definition, de jure standards are ratified by international bodies recognized by the World Trade Organization, such as the International Organization for Standardization. The de jure process in the United States is linked with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
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Who participates?
More than 2,000 individuals from 13 countries participate in INCITS 52 Technical subgroups. They represent consulting groups; financial institutions; government agencies; hardware and software vendors; manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, and many other industries; universities; and user groups.

Developing what?
The INCITS catalog of standards contains information technology standards that were developed by X3 (as INCITS was known from 1961 - 1996) and standards that were developed in ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC 1). INCITS currently has 612 published standards: 56 NCITS standards (published from 1997 - 2001), 202 X3 standards, and 354 ANSI/ISO standards. They include base standards (C++), security techniques, MPEG the list goes on.
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Name Change
Formerly known as INCITS, the organization replaced National with InterNational in 2001 to reflect its agenda of developing market-driven standards with global relevance and reach. INCITS is sponsored by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a trade association representing the leading U.S. providers of information technology products and services. ITI members employ more than one million people in the United States and in 2000, their revenues exceeded $668 billion worldwide. 7

INCITS Executive Board

INCITS has the committed participation of technology experts from multiple industry sectors as well as government, universities and user groups; it supports their work with sound, highly respected procedures.

INCITS Executive Board

The Executive Board approves standards developed by the technical committees or submitted to INCITS as Fast Track candidates. The Executive Board meets 4 times a year and the dues are $3200.

Members
Producers (10) Apple Computer, Bull-HN, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Sony, Unisys Consumers (3) Oracle, Share, U.S. Department of Defense/DISA General Interest (4) Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP), National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), Open Strategies, Sun Microsystems

Advisory Members (5) Boeing, Center for Global Standards Analysis, Imation, Sybase, U.S. Department of Energy
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Organization Chart
JTC 1 Information Technology JTC 1 TAG Administrator - ITI ANSI American National Standards Institute INCITS Secretariat - ITI Members - Producers/Consumers/General Interest PPC Procedures and Policy Committee

MOC Management Operations Committee INCITS Technical Committees

INCITS/B5 Flexible Magnetic Media and Formats INCITS/B10 Identification Cards and Related Devices INCITS/B11 Optical Digital Data Disks INCITS/H2 Database INCITS/H3 Computer Graphics & Image Processing INCITS/J3 FORTRAN INCITS/J4 COBOL INCITS/J7 APT INCITS/J9 PASCAL INCITS/J11 C INCITS/J13 LISP INCITS/J16 C++ INCITS/K5 Vocabulary INCITS/L1 Geographic Info. Systems (GIS) INCITS/L2 Codes & Character Sets INCITS/L3 Audio/Picture Coding INCITS/L8 Data Representation INCITS/M1 Biometrics INCITS/R1 Real-Time Computing Systems INCITS/T3 Open Distributed Processing INCITS/T4 Security Techniques INCITS/T6 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology INCITS/T10 I/O Interface - Lower Level INCITS/T11 I/O Interface - Device Level INCITS/T13 I/O Interface - AT Attachment INCITS/T20 Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) INCITS/V1 Text: Office & Publishing Systems INCITS/V2, Information Technology Access Interface INCITS/V3, eCommerce INCITS/W1 Office Machines

CT22 TAG - U.S. TAG to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22 *Maintenance technical committees INCITS/B9 Paper/Forms Layout* INCITS/J1 PL/I* INCITS/J15 PL/B* INCITS/J17 Prolog* INCITS/J18 REXX*

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2002 Dues
These fees directly support INCITS and its program of work, including including standards processing, web-integrated services for the members (document distribution, balloting), meeting support and marketing. INCITS also supports the Secretariats held by the U.S. National Body at ANSI.

INCITS Executive Board Fortune 1000 or Fortune Global 500 Company, or Federal Government Agency $3200 Others - $1000

INCITS Subgroups Voting members and advisory members on Technical Committees (including one Alternate) - $800
Technical Committee Additional Alternates, Technical Committee Task Groups $800
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Two INCITS processes

Participants can take two routes to developing a standardboth can lead to the international arena and both reflect the need of the marketplace for technically superior standards produced in a timely manner.

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1. Development within INCITS

INCITS can approve a new project based on technical merits. INCITS publicizes the effort to alert all materially interested parties, and then work on the standard commences. The new project can be assigned to an existing INCITS technical committee, or a new TC may be formed.
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Milestones of the Development process

Milestone 1: Milestone 2: Milestone 3: Milestone 4: Milestone 5: Milestone 6: Approval of the Project Proposal Notification to the Public Technical Development Initial Public Review Management Review (Audit Trail of Standard) INCITS Approval

Milestone 7:
Milestone 8:

ANSI Approval
Publication
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Project Proposal
http://www.incits.org/sd3.htm

Scope of the Project:

Process Description: Business Case:

Title, submitter
New or revised, standard or technical report, recommended TC Need for a standard Implementation impacts Conformity assessment (methods) Legal issues (patents, copyrights) Existing or underway, national or international, liaisons

Related Standards Activity:

TC Empowerment: With 2 weeks notice, TC can start a new project

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2. INCITS Fast Track

The INCITS Executive Board can approve a fast-track contribution based on the availability of mature specifications in as little as 4 months. The sponsor will review the public review comments, make edits as required and submit it to the Executive Board for formal approval as a de jure standard.

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Fast Track Path

Milestone 1: Work with Fast Track Facilitator (kmcmillan@itic.org, 202-626-5742) to submit candidate standard with required documentation Presentation to INCITS (Acceptance)
Development completed by Sponsor] Public Review

Milestone 2:
[Milestone 3: Milestone 3:

Milestone 4:
Milestone 5: Milestone 6:

Management Review (Audit Trail of Standard)

INCITS Approval of the standard ANSI Approval

Milestone 7:

Publication

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Overview of ANSI
Accreditation ANSI: accredits entities to develop base standards three types of accreditation: - accredited standards committee (e.g. , INCITS, X9, T1) - accredited organization (e.g., IEEE, EIA, NISO) - accredited canvass (e.g., NIST, UL, HFS )

ANSI requires the following elements to ensure due process: Openness Balance Written Procedures Appeals Notification of Standards Development Consideration of Views and Objections Consideration of Standards Proposals Records

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Accredited Procedures

ANSI reviews our procedures to ensure we are in compliance with ANSI requirements.

This helps us to avoid legal problems -- and penalties -- incurred by other standards developers or the companies participating in standards development.

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Legal Issues PATENTS

Call for Patents As INCITS subscribes to the ANSI Patent Policy, a call for patents and pertinent issues is issued now and throughout the development of a project to determine if a proposed standard may require the use of a patented invention. If such notice is received, INCITS seeks a statement that the patent holder will comply with the ANSI Patent Policy. Please send the statement to the INCITS Secretariat at 1250 Eye Street NW, Suite 200, Washington DC 20005.

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Legal Issues PATENTS

ANSI Patent Policy http://www.ansi.org/public/library/guides/ppguide.html There is no objection in principle to drafting a proposed American National Standard in terms that include the use of a patented item, if it is considered that technical reasons justify this approach

a. - a license will be made available without compensation to the applicants desiring to utilize the license for the purpose of implementing the standard; or b. - a license will be made available to applicants under reasonable terms and conditions that are demonstrably free of any unfair discrimination
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Legal Issues Antitrust

ITI has antitrust guidelines for all of us to follow. See http://www.ncits.org/natrust.htm

Never discuss the following topics at any INCITS or an INCITS subgroup meeting:
Any company's prices or pricing policies; Specific R&D, sales and marketing plans; Any company's confidential product, product development or production strategies; Whether certain suppliers or customers will be served; Prices paid to input sources; or Complaints about individual firms or other actions that might tend to hinder a competitor in any market.
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Legal Issues

ANSI Accreditation Is Important because of U.S. Antitrust Laws. Recent past legal action resulting in treble-damage awards include:

"Allied Tubing"
"Hydrolevel " Other actions have an impact on intellectual property rights: "Dell Computer"

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ALLIED TUBING
Case: "Allied Tubing"

Description: NFPA final draft standard (NEC) that excluded PVC Conduit Issue: A member of NFPA standards activity, Allied Tube (a manufacturer of steel conduit), led effort to have many "new"members join NFPA (legally) in time for final ballot on this standard. NFPA membership rules for voting on its draft standards allowed for this "stacking" for vote. Result: Allied Tubing and NFPA (Secretariat) was sued by Indian Head Corporation (a leading manufacturer of PVC tubing). NFPA asked Indian Head Corporation to please drop them from litigation and they agreed. Allied Tubing lost at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that treble damages in the amount of $11.4 Million be awarded to Indian Head Corporation. In light of this case, ANSI has asked its accredited standards developers to institute management controls and review their procedures to guard against possible abusive situations.
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HYDROLEVEL
Hydrolevel went out of business because of the interpretation that their product was not in conformance with an American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) Standard. Issue: No management controls by SDO on interpretations of its standards

Results:
1) Technical development group officer issuing interpretation and his employer settled out of court. Amount of damages paid is unknown. 2) ASME, as secretariat, lost at all levels of litigation through the Supreme Court. Treble damages by ASME to Hydrolevel was $7 million. 3) ANSI required accredited standards developers to institute management controls for the interpretation of standards.

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Dell Computer
The FTC brought suit under Section 5 of FTC Act when Dell failed to disclose that it owned the patent for the VL Bus design incorporated into a Video Electronics Standards Association standard, and in fact represented that the standard did not infringe, and then attempted to enforce patent rights after the standard was adopted. As part of the settlement, Dell agreed not to enforce its patent. As a result of the FTC v Dell Computer decision (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1995/9511/dell.htm), the INCITS Secretariat further advises its participants: 1. Failure to disclose a patent or other intellectual property claim to any invention, the use of which would be required for compliance with the proposed standard, could result in the imposition of a civil penalty by applicable government authorities as well as the imposition of a duty to license the property on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. 2. INCITS and the TC membership will be advised [at the time of management review] of the names of those who have filed responses to the call for patents.
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Officers
Chairman Presides at meetings, ensures that the Program of Work is carried out in a prompt, efficient and effective manner in accordance with the objectives, policies and procedures of the INCITS/ standards program; prepares the required reports; and ensures that the administrative duties are fulfilled. Appointment process: 1. Secretariat asks for candidates

2. A letter of management support is required 3. Ballot issued to INCITS Executive Board 4. Term is three years. ** Chairs must be trained within one year of appointment.
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Required Officers

Some technical committees require an International Representative. Most require a vice chairman and a secretary (although some rotate that function). A technical committee MUST have a Chairman or it will be disbanded.

Other reasons for disbandment: - work is complete - support for the work falls below 4-member minimum

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Participation
'Participation' is defined as the privilege to attend meetings, speak and submit contributions. Participation on INCITS and all of its subgroups is open to all directly and materially affected interests. However, any person who represents a non-U.S. domiciled organization may not participate on questions establishing a U.S. position in international matters.

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Membership

Categories of Membership
Voting Members Advisory Members

Liaison Members
Ex Officio Members

_________________________________________________
Minimum number of voting members is 4
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Definitions for Voting

One vote per organization (Section 4.2.4, INCITS/SD-2)
Government Corporation Academia Vendor-Specific User Groups, Professional Societies, Consortia, and Other Standards Developing Organizations

All Other Organizations (Legal or Commercial Entities)

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Government

Government There shall be only one voting membership for separate government subdivision or agency. A separate government subdivision or agency is defined as an entity that reports to its parent executive, legislative, or judicial branch of government. Note: On TCs, TGs, and SGs, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is allowed a maximum of four votes from separate and unrelated entities such as the Department of Army, Department of Navy, Department of Air Force, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Mapping Agency, etc. This exception is due to the unique nature of the DoD and is, therefore, not considered a precedent for any further exceptions.

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Consultant Organization

Consultant Organization In order to be in the voting member category, consultant organizations shall have to declare that their participation is not being funded by any organization already having voting membership.

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Responsibilities and Privileges

Voting Members Responsibilities - attend meetings - return letter ballots - pay appropriate service fees Privileges: - receive all documents - submit contributions - speak

- make motions, second motions

- vote

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Termination of Membership

Termination: - failure to attend meetings - failure to return letter ballots - failure to pay appropriate service fees

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Voting Eligibility

Principal members in good standing -Attendance rules not violated -Letter ballots returned -Service fees have been paid Alternate if principal fails to vote

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Criteria for Approval

We use Roberts Rules of Order as our authority for the conduct of meetings and the criteria for approval. Exceptions are identified in a table in the SD-2, Organization and Rules of INCITS.

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Buddy Systems
Education establish a "Buddy System" for new members take advantage of INCITS training sessions Procedures know and follow INCITS Procedures (INCITS/SD-2) know and use Robert's Rules of Order to efficiently progress meetings Project Management assign action items, target dates and person(s) responsible based upon meeting schedules assign back-up person(s) for crucial action items
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Questions to Ask
Questions to be asked before starting a Standards Development Project Is the end goal an international standard? Are there other arenas developing standards for the same subject, e.g. X9, ETSI, CEN/CENELEC? If the end goal is an international standard, what is the best method of developing standards to assure U.S. and international consistency - develop in JTC 1; adopt in U.S. - develop in U.S., fast-track or submit for JTC 1 processing Are any consortia addressing the same subject, e.g., BioAPI Consortium, Open GIS, IETF, W3C? How can feedback mechanisms be established with other related organizations?
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Institutional Memory
Document rationale for subgroup decisions on important issues - explanatory appendices to standards - subgroup decision lists - expository document accompany dpANS Use of Standing Committee Documents - examples meeting calendar membership list document register Judicious Use of Ad Hoc Groups For Multiple Related Standards use common vocabulary use common wording for subjects Share experiences with officers of other subgroups
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Web Resources

SD2 Organization, Rules and Procedures of INCITS http://www.INCITS.org - under selection INCITS Standing Documents SD8 Officers Reference Manual http://www.INCITS.org - under selection INCITS Standing Documents HELP http://www.INCITS.org - under selection FAQs All of the following reference materials can be found at http://web.ansi.org/public/ref_lib.html - Procedures for the Development and Coordination of American National Standards - Guidelines for Implementation of the ANSI Patent Policy - ANSI Procedures for U.S. Participation in the International Standards Activities of the ISO Note: Copies of Style Manual - for preparation of proposed American National Standards are available from the INCITS Secretariat. 42

TC Home Page

The INCITS Secretariat maintains an individual home page for each technical committee which includes: A brief scope of the committees activities Names of the TCs officers Links to the technical committees - Annual Report - Membership List - Projects - Calendar for INCITS and all Technical Committees Also, the INCITS Secretariat will add or link new information at the request of the chairman. Hosting of TC Websites and reflectors is also available through the Secretariat.
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Secretariat Staff

Staff Support - http://www.INCITS.org/staff.html Panic Button: Call 202-737-8888 - ask for INCITS Manager

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