TC Process (18 September 2003)

Table of Contents

Section 2. Technical Committees
  (a). TC Discussion Lists
  (b). TC Formation
  (c). First Meeting of a TC
  (d). TC Membership
  (e). TC Participation
  (f). Termination of TC Membership
  (g). Leaves of Absence
  (h). TC Chairs
  (i). TC Visibility
  (j). TC Procedure
  (k). TC Meetings
  (l). TC Charter Clarification
  (m). TC Voting
  (n). TC Subcommittees
  (o). Closing a TC
  (p). TC Coordination
  (q). Appeals
  (r). Application to Existing TCs

Section 3. Standards Approval Process
(a). Approval of a Committee Draft
(b). Approval of an OASIS Standard

Section 4. Board of Directors Involvement in the Standards Process

Section 1. Definitions

“Eligible Person” means one of a class of individuals that includes persons holding individual memberships in the corporation, employees or designees of organizational members of the corporation, and such other persons as may be designated by the OASIS Board of Directors.
“Technical Committee” (“TC”) means a group of Eligible Persons formed and conducted according to the provisions of this TC Process.
“Technical Committee Charter” (or “Charter”) is the items included in the proposal to form a TC, as defined in the section “TC Formation” and may be modified as described in the section “TC Charter Clarification”.
“Technical Committee Member” (or “Member”) is an Eligible Person who has completed the requirements to join a TC as defined in the section “TC Membership” and who maintains his membership as described in the section “Termination of TC Membership”.
“Technical Committee Observer” (or “Observer”) is an Eligible Person who has requested to subscribe to the TC email list and/or to participate in TC discussions as defined in the section “TC Participation”.
“TC Convener” is an Eligible Person who serves in the role of organizing the first meeting of the TC, as defined in the section “First Meeting of a TC”.
“Joint Committee” (“JC”) means a committee formed by joint proposal of a group of cooperating TCs, for the purpose of coordinating the technical work of those TCs.
“OASIS TC Administration” means the persons appointed by the OASIS Board of Directors to represent OASIS in administrative matters relating to TCs.
“Committee Draft” is a technical work approved by a Technical Committee as specified in Section 2 of this Process.
“OASIS Standard” is a Committee Draft that has been submitted by a Technical Committee and reviewed and approved by OASIS membership as specified in Section 3 of this Process.
“Public” and “publicly” mean all people, whether OASIS members or not.

Section 2. Technical Committees

(a). TC Discussion Lists

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

The name of the discussion list, which shall not be the same as the name of the list in which the TC itself will operate once formed;
A preliminary statement of scope for the TC that the list is intended to form;
The names, electronic mail addresses, and membership affiliations of the Eligible Persons proposing to create the discussion list; and
The name of the discussion list leader.

No later than 15 days following the submission, OASIS TC Administration shall provide these materials to the membership with a Call For Participation in a discussion list whose purpose is to form the TC described in the application. Discussion of TC formation shall begin on the list no sooner than seven days after the announcement. More than one TC can be formed from a discussion list. A list established to discuss the formation of a TC under provisions of this section shall automatically go out of existence 90 days after the call for participation, together with its archive.

(b). TC Formation

Any group of at least three Eligible Persons shall be authorized to begin a TC by submitting to OASIS TC Administration 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.

The charter of the TC, which includes only the following items

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;
A statement of purpose, including a definition of the problem to be solved;
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 will be considered by the voting members of the TC on an equal basis to improve the original starting point contribution.
A list of deliverables, with completion dates;
The anticipated audience or users of the work; and
The language in which the TC will conduct business;

Non-normative information regarding the startup of the TC, which includes

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;
Optionally, a list of contributions of existing technical work that the proposers anticipate will be made to this TC;
The date and time of the first meeting, whether it will be held in person or by phone, and who will sponsor this first meeting;
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;
The names, electronic mail addresses, and membership affiliations of at least three Eligible Persons who support this proposal and are committed to the charter and projected meeting schedule; and
The name of the TC convener, and the name of the proposed chair.

No later than 15 days following the submission, OASIS TC Administration shall either provide these materials to the membership with a Call For Participation and an announcement of a first meeting, or return the submission to its originators with an explanation of its failure to meet the requirements set forth in this section.

(c). First Meeting of a TC

The first meeting of a TC shall occur no less than 30 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a telephone meeting and no less than 45 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a face-to-face meeting. Persons intending to participate in the first meeting must register to attend no later than 15 days prior to the event by notifying the person named as convener of the new TC of their intention to attend the meeting, and must be eligible for TC participation at the time they register. Every Eligible Person who has so registered 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 start their probationary period to become a member of the TC, as described in the section “TC Membership”.

If the Eligible Person is an employee of an OASIS member organization, the Primary Representative of that organization will be notified by the convener before the first meeting about the person’s registration for the TC.

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 phone meeting that fails to grant access to every Eligible Person previously registering a desire to participate shall be subject to appeal as provided in the section “Appeals.”

At the first meeting the TC must elect a chair as the first order of business. Once the chair is elected the role of convener ends.

(d). TC Membership

An Eligible Person shall become a Prospective Member of an existing TC by sending to the chair of the TC via the electronic notification facility provided by OASIS notice of his intention to become a Member of the TC; the chair shall notify the TC of this request via the TC’s email list. If the Eligible Person is an employee of an OASIS member organization, the Primary Representative of that organization will also be notified by the chair about the person’s registration for the TC.

The Prospective Member will become a TC Member with voting rights immediately after a probationary period, which starts when the Eligible Person notifies the chair of his intent to join the TC, and lasts until the close of the third TC meeting held during the period of prospective membership or until 60 days have elapsed following formal application to join the TC, whichever comes first.

During the probationary period the Prospective Member must follow the same attendance rules as a TC Member, as defined in the section “Termination of TC Membership”; if attendance requirements are not met the Prospective Member will not become a Member at the end of the probationary period and must re-apply for membership. The Prospective Member may participate in TC discussions and post email messages to the TC list but may not vote.

TC membership is per person, not per organization.

The transference of an Associate OASIS membership shall not automatically confer TC membership upon the transferee.

(e). TC Participation

An Eligible Person shall become a Observer of an existing TC by sending to the chair of the TC (or the convener, if before the first meeting), via the electronic notification facility provided by OASIS, notice of his or her intention to become an Observer in the TC. An Observer may participate in TC discussions and post email messages to the TC list, but may not vote and does not need to maintain attendance. The Observer is not “on track” to become a TC Member; to become a Member the person must comply with the requirements as defined in the section “TC Membership”.

(f). Termination of TC Membership

Except as provided in the section of this article titled “Leaves of Absence,” membership in an OASIS TC shall be terminated under the following conditions:

A member shall be warned by mail from the chair of the TC upon his first failure to be present during the roll call at the beginning of the meeting of two out of every three successive meetings of the TC. Membership shall be terminated if the member fails to be present during the roll call of the next meeting following transmittal of the warning or if the member consistently fails to be present during the roll call of two of every three meetings thereafter.
A member shall be warned by mail from the chair of the TC upon failure to return two out of three most recent successive mail ballots. Membership shall be terminated if the member fails to return the next mail ballot following transmittal of the warning.
A member shall be considered to have resigned from a TC upon receipt of notification of resignation by mail from the member by the chair of the TC. The chair shall forward this notice to the TC mail list.
Persons who lose Eligible Person status for reasons including, but not limited to, change of employment, shall have a further 15 days of TC membership 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 the section titled “Leaves of Absence” if Eligible Person status has not been re-established.

Termination of membership in an OASIS TC shall automatically end voting membership in any subcommittee directly or indirectly created by that TC.

(g). Leaves of Absence

Every 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 member shall be exempt from the participation criteria specified in the section of this TC Process titled “Termination of TC Membership.” 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 via the TC’s email list.

A TC 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 member of a TC who has been granted a leave of absence shall cease to be a member of the TC and all of its subcommittees for the duration of the leave. However, membership in the TC and membership in any still-existing subcommittee of the TC of which the same person was a member at the beginning of the leave shall resume when the leave ends.

The length of a leave of absence shall be specified in advance by the 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 submitted 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 membership cannot be carried over into another leave.

(h). TC Chairs

Each TC must have a chair. The TC chair is initially elected at the first meeting. The chair is elected by majority vote of the TC membership. In the absence of a chair all TC activities, with the exception of the selection of a new chair, are suspended.

The position of chair of a TC may be shared 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 following an appeal as specified in the section of this TC Process titled “Appeals” or by a vote of 2/3 of all the members 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 membership of the TC.

The same provisions regarding leaves of absence shall apply to the chair or co-chair of a TC as to the other members of a TC, except the chair must notify both OASIS TC Administration and the TC at least 30 days prior to any non-emergency leave of absence.

(i). TC Visibility

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 and Observers of the TC.

The minutes of each TC meeting and a record of all decisions shall be published to that TC’s email list. All 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 will be publicly archived, and will be forwarded to one or more TC members including the TC chair. TCs shall not be required to respond to comments.

Web Pages

OASIS TC Administration 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; list of TC members; the name and email address of the TC chair as well as other positions such as vice chair, secretary, editor, etc. that may exist; list of subcommittees and their deliverables and members; draft and completed TC documents; and contributors’ IP statements.

Announcements

OASIS TC Administration shall create a publicly archived list for announcements from OASIS TC Administration 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 to include but not be limited to the following: TC formation; TC charter revision; publication of working drafts; publication of Committee Drafts; calls for implementation; public review of Committee Drafts, submission of a Committee Draft as a proposed OASIS Standard; approval or rejection of a proposed standard; start or end of participation in a joint committee; and closure of a TC.

(j). 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, with the OASIS Bylaws, 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 the TC by majority vote. Standing rules must be communicated to the TC Administrator who may override them if they are conflict with OASIS policy, and must be published on the TC’s web page. The TC may not adopt any standing rule in relation to intellectual property rights.

Contributions to the TC, and work created by the TC, must comply with the OASIS IPR Policy.

(k). TC Meetings

“TC meeting” shall be construed to include telephone conferences and video conferences as well as face-to-face meetings.

(l). TC Charter Clarification

The 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 if the new deliverables are within the scope of the topic; work on a further version of a specification after completion of the original deliverable requires a clarification of the charter.

Approval for clarification shall require at least 2/3 of the total membership of a TC voting to approve and no more than 1/4 voting to disapprove. The clarification of the charter may occur no earlier than the first meeting of the TC.

The clarification must be reported to the OASIS TC Administration who has the authority to overturn these changes if they are not in conformance with OASIS policies. The TC Administrator must within 15 days either make the approval and announcement to members or reply to the TC with the reason why the change cannot be approved. The changed charter will not take effect until approved and announced by the TC Administrator. OASIS TC Administration will publicize approved changes as specified in the section “TC Visibility” and any revisable publicly visible description (e.g., web page) promulgated by the TC shall be updated to reflect such changes.

(m). TC Voting

Eligibility

Every Member of a TC has a single vote. Organizations do not vote in TCs. Proxies shall not be allowed in TC voting.

TC votes require a simple majority of quorum to pass, except as noted elsewhere in this document.

Electronic Voting

TCs may conduct electronic ballots via 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 calendar days, unless the TC specifies a longer voting period for a particular ballot. For the purposes of electronic voting, a vote is valid only when a majority of TC members who are eligible at the beginning of the vote have cast ballots, and a majority (or super majority, when required) of the ballots cast will decide the issue.

A TC may adopt a standing rule allowing for members to make motions via the TC’s general mail list; seconding of the motion and discussion would also take place via the mail list, with voting via the mail list or the publicly archived electronic voting functionality provided by OASIS. In the absence of such a standing rule motions may only be made in a TC meeting.

(n). 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. An SC member may resign from the SC and remain a member of the TC.

(o). Closing a TC

TC Administration may close any TC that fails to conduct at least one quorate meeting or conduct any electronic ballots during any six month period; whose voting membership falls below three members; has reached its completion date; or has failed to show progress towards achieving its purpose as defined by its charter. TC Administration must close a TC that has completed its deliverables. A TC can be closed by resolution of its members or by resolution of the Board.

(p). TC Coordination

Coordination among TCs shall take place through the action of voluntary Joint Committees (JCs).

The purpose of a JC is to coordinate the technical activities of multiple TCs, is advisory only to those TCs, and has no deliverables. A TC shall have no obligation to abide by any decision arrived at in a JC to which it contributes membership.

A JC is formed upon the proposal from the chairs of at least two OASIS TCs who wish to form the JC. The chairs of all TCs named in the proposal should be co-proposers. The proposal must be submitted to the OASIS TC Administrator, and shall be written in English, provided in electronic form as plain text, and include the following information:

The name of the JC, such name not to have been previously used for an OASIS JC or TC;
A statement of purpose, which must be germane to the mission of OASIS and to the member TCs;
The language in which the JC will conduct business;
The date and time of the first JC meeting, and whether it will be held in person or by phone. The first JC meeting may be held no less than 30 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a telephone meeting and no less than 45 days after the announcement of its formation in the case of a face-to-face meeting;
The proposed on-going meeting schedule for the JC;
A list of all the TCs that will cooperate in the work of the JC;
The names, electronic mail addresses, and membership affiliations of one or two members of each of the proposing TCs who have been selected to represent the TC; provided that no individual named in the proposal shall be allowed to represent more than one TC in meeting this requirement.
The name of the JC convener; and
The names of meeting sponsors, if any.

No later than 15 days following the submission, OASIS TC administration shall either announce the formation of the JC to the members of OASIS, or return the submission to its originators with an explanation of its failure to meet the requirements set forth in this section. If the submission is accepted, OASIS TC administration shall form an electronic mail list for the JC.

TCs not named in the proposal can join the JC at its first meeting by notifying the JC convener 15 days before the JC’s first meeting of the TC’s intent to send a representative, and by having a one or two representatives at that meeting.

TCs not joining the JC at the first meeting may join later by sending a notice to the JC chair requesting JC membership for the TC. The JC must respond to the TC within 45 days either accepting or rejecting the request for membership. If the request for membership is accepted the TC must send a representative to a JC meeting within 45 days after the response, or to the first meeting following that period if no meeting is held during that period. If the request for membership is rejected the applicant TC may appeal to the TC Administrator.

At the first meeting the JC must elect a chair. Once the chair is elected the role of convener ends.

The members of the JC are the TCs. Each TC may send one or two representatives to meetings of the JC, and each TC will have one vote. Quorum is equal to 50% (rounded up) of the number of TCs constituting the JC. A single person may not represent more than one TC in the JC. The representatives of the member TCs will be subscribed to the JC’s email list.

To maintain its membership in the JC a TC must have a representative at two out of three consecutive JC meetings. If a TC is not represented at two out of three consecutive meetings the JC chair will send a notice to the TC chair; if a representative of the TC does not attend the following meeting then the TC will be dropped from membership in the JC.

The chair of the JC must be one of the representatives of the member TCs. Eligible Persons who are not representing a member TC may attend meetings as observers.

The TC Administrator may close any JC that does not hold a meeting or conduct any electronic discussion in any six month period, or whose membership is less than two TCs. The JC can also be closed by resolution of its members.

(q). 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. Appeals regarding actions of a TC must be made to the TC Administrator, and appeals regarding actions of the TC Administrator must be made to the Chairman of the OASIS Board of Directors. 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.

In the case of an appeal to the TC Administrator, within 30 days of receipt of the complaint, the TC Administration shall respond to the appellants, addressing each allegation of fact in the complaint to the extent of the TC Administration’s knowledge. If the appellants and the TC administration are unable to resolve the complaint within 15 days following the response, the TC Administration shall schedule 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.

In the case of an appeal to the Board, within 30 days of receipt of the complaint, the Chairman of the Board will respond to the appellants, 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.

(r). Application to Existing TCs

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

Section 3. Standards Approval Process

(a). Approval of a Committee Draft

Upon completion of a specification the TC may approve the work as a Committee Draft. The approval of a Committee Draft shall require at least 2/3 of the total membership of a TC voting to approve and no more than 1/4 voting to disapprove.

OASIS TC Administration must be notified at the completion of any ballot to approve a Committee Draft, regardless of the outcome of the ballot.

The name of a Committee Draft may not include any trademarks or service marks not owned by OASIS. The Committee Draft must use the OASIS-approved document templates and naming, and must include the OASIS copyright.

(b). Approval of an OASIS Standard

Public Review

Before the TC can submit its Committee Draft to OASIS membership for review and approval as an OASIS Standard, the TC must conduct a public review of the work. The decision by the TC to submit the work for public review requires a majority vote. The review must be announced by the TC Administrator on the OASIS members mail list and optionally on other public mail lists. Review must take place for a minimum of 30 days, during which time no changes may be made to the document. Comments must be collected via the TC’s archived public comment facility. The TC must record the comments received as well as the resolution of those comments.

The TC may conduct any number of additional review cycles (i.e. collecting comments, making edits to the specification, sending out a revised version for review again, etc.) before deciding that the review is complete. If substantive changes are made to the specification after the start of the public review then the TC should conduct another review cycle. After the conclusion of the review and final changes to the document, the TC must re-approve the work as a Committee Draft before submitting it to OASIS.

Member Approval

A TC may recommend that the Committee Draft be made an OASIS Standard. Upon resolution of the TC to move the specification forward, its chair shall submit the following items to OASIS TC Administration:

A formal specification that is a valid member of its type, together with appropriate documentation for the specification, both of which must be written using approved OASIS templates;
A clear English-language summary of the specification;
A statement regarding the relationship of this specification to similar work of other OASIS TCs or other standards developing organizations;
Certification by at least three OASIS member organizations that they are successfully using the specification consistently with the OASIS IPR Policy;
An account of each of the comments/issues raised during the public review period, along with its resolution;
An account of and results of the voting to approve the approve the specification as a Committee Draft;
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;
A pointer to the publicly visible comments archive for the originating TC;
A statement from the chair of the TC certifying that all members of the TC have been provided with a copy of the OASIS IPR Policy; and
Optionally, a pointer to any minority reports submitted by one or more TC members who did not vote in favor of approving the Committee Draft, or certification by the chair that no minority reports exist.

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

OASIS TC Administration shall submit the proposal to the OASIS membership by the first day of the following month. The first 15 days of that month will be used by the membership to familiarize themselves with the submission. Voting will take place starting the 16th of the month. Those organizational members of OASIS who were members at the beginning of the familiarization period are eligible to vote, and must submit their ballots by the end of the month.

The TC that originated the specification may, by formal resolution, withdraw the proposed specification at any point after it is submitted to OASIS TC Administration for administrative processing and before the end of the voting period.

Errata or Corrigenda to a submission are not permitted; if changes are required the Committee Draft must be withdrawn by the TC, edited, re-approved as a Committee Draft, then resubmitted.

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 will 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 membership has voted to approve the proposed standard, then 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. However, if negative votes amounting to less than 15 percent of the voting membership have been cast, the TC will be notified of the negative votes, after which the TC shall have 30 days to take one of the following actions by resolution: (a) request OASIS TC Administration 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 at the end of the voting period less than 15 percent of the voting membership has voted to approve the proposed standard, or if at the end of the voting period 15 percent or more of the voting membership has voted to disapprove the proposed standard, or 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. This shall not prevent a later version of the same specification from being submitted again as specified in this section.

Section 4. Board of Directors Involvement in the Standards Process

The OASIS Board of Directors shall appoint a member of “OASIS TC Administration,” as defined in Section 1 of this TC Process, to act as the Technical Committee (“TC”) 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 conjunction with OASIS TC Administration 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 Draft to OASIS for consideration. Such notice shall be submitted via email to the Board immediately upon the receipt of the submission by OASIS TC Administration.

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 will 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.

Dates Approved: Thu, 2003-09-18 Effective: Thu, 2003-09-18

TC Process (18 September 2003)

Section 3. Standards Approval Process

Section 4. Board of Directors Involvement in the Standards Process

The work of OASIS is supported by organizations from around the world. Members include: