Volume 6, Number 1 – February 2009

I3A’s “Eye on Standards” newsletter is issued every other month, to keep you informed and up-to-date on Standards activities and breaking news, as well as on important I3A membership activity.  If you have comments or questions, please send a message to Editor@I3A.org or to Jim Peyton, I3A Director of Standards and Technology, JamesP@I3A.org.

From the Director's (Messy) Desk

James A. Peyton

Openness Key to Avoiding Standards Pitfalls

By James A. Peyton, I3A Director of Standards and Technology

Our guest article this month comes from Andrew Updegrove, Partner at GesmerUpdegrove LLP, on the Rambus decision and its impact on standards development – it points out the importance of having established, open procedures to ensure that members are not "hijacked" by IP issues after standards approval.

The I3A Standards Operating Procedures were last approved by the I3A Board in September 2008. We have included important updates from the American national Standards Institute's (ANSI) Essential Requirements including its new Intellectual Property (IP) Policy. ANSI will be conducting an audit of I3A's standards program in March 2009. I3A is committed to an open formal standards program that stresses early declaration of IP with continual monitoring during the process. We extend this policy in the development of International Standards in ISO/TC42 with the implementation of ISO's own IP policy that requires formal patent statements be registered both by the Technical Committee and ISO Central Secretariat.

Our unique Initiative Group (IG) Program also has a rigorous IP policy. During the development of an I3A Initiative we require IG Members to declare IP and IP terms at several stages. The first is during the enrollment program, where participating companies formally sign an agreement stating that the company will abide by the I3A IP Policy. As the Initiative is developed, IG Members are sent a Technology Contribution Form to determine whether materials created to support the Initiative are subject to IP. These materials may include software tools, targets or other items essential to the implementation of the Initiative. Licensing terms are specified so that IG Members and the public know exactly what is required to use these supporting materials.

Finally, at the end of the Initiative process, IG Members have a final chance to identify IP associated with the project. This Voting Form is a way for companies to declare their own IP or known third-party IP.

The goal for the I3A Standards and Initiatives program is to provide "no surprises" technology development. I3A drives the imaging industry with its technology solutions, and we seek to avoid the situation that arose in the Rambus case. The key is open development through early disclosure of any IP issues. With over 50 years of standards development in domestic standards, international standards, and more recently, Initiatives, we are confident that I3A provides an efficient, safe forum for establishing key technology solutions for the industry.

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19 Standards Organizations Support Rambus Brief

Guest Article: Andrew Updegrove, GesmerUpdegrove LLP

On December 24, 2008 Andrew Updegrove of GesmerUpdegrove LLP filed a pro bono amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of the Federal Trade Commission's petition for writ of certiorari in its suit against Rambus Technologies. Nineteen standard setting organizations (SSOs), representing over 13,300 members, joined as amici curiae supporting this brief. As noted in the brief itself, these SSOs represent a broad range of SSOs that participate in the standard setting process, and each is greatly concerned by the adverse effects that it anticipates will result from the [lower court reversal of the FTC's sanctions of Rambus]. Those effects will reach virtually all aspects of modern society, commerce, education and government, because all of these interests rely heavily upon the efficient development and broad adoption of standards by the private sector.

The pervasiveness of standards, and of the potential reach of the decision on petition, is indicated by the range of focus of the amici curiae that have joined in this brief. They include SSOs that develop standards or support standards development in sectors as diverse as defense, consumer electronics, photography, on-line learning, geospatial information, credit “smart" cards and a broad array of computer system products and services.

In agreeing to be parties to the brief, these organizations demonstrated their concern over maintaining the integrity of the standards development process, as well as their belief that SSOs, their members, and non-members alike must be able to rely upon the support of the courts when they believe that SSO intellectual property rights (IPR) policies have been violated.

The final list of amici is as follows:

ADVANCED MEDIA WORKFLOW ASSOCIATION (AMWA)
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION (CEA)
GLOBALPLATFORM INC.
IMS GLOBAL LEARNING CONSORTIUM, INC. (IMS)
INTERNATIONAL IMAGING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, INC. (I3A)
IPC, ASSOCIATION CONNECTING ELECTRONICS INDUSTRIES
LINUX FOUNDATION
MIDI MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
MOBILE PRINTING AND IMAGING CONSORTIUM, INC.
OPEN GEOSPATIAL CONSORTIUM, INC. (OGC)
OPENSAF FOUNDATION
ORGANIZATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF STRUCTURED INFORMATION STANDARDS (OASIS)
PICMG-PCI INDUSTRIAL COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS GROUP, INC. (PICMG)
SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION ENGINEERS (SMPTE)
THE SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO FORUM, INC. SDR FORUM)
THE OPEN GROUP (TOG)
VIDEO ELECTRONICS STANDARDS ASSOCIATION (VESA)
VMEBUS INTERNATIONAL TRADE ASSOCIATION (VITA)
XBRL INTERNATIONAL, INC.

As of Monday, February 23rd the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Federal Trade Commission's bid to revive its finding that Silicon Valley company Rambus Inc. (RMBS) engaged in illegal monopolistic behavior with an industry standard- setting group in the 1990s.

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ISO/TC42 Announces 21st Plenary Meeting in Japan

ISO/TC42 will hold its 21st Plenary Meeting and associated Working Group Meetings October 5-9, 2009 in Tokyo Japan. The Host is the Japan National Committee for ISO/TC42. I3A has established a web site for information on its web site.

TC42 holds Plenary meetings in order to assess the productivity of the Technical Committee. The Plenary setting also allows for interaction between Working Groups that otherwise meet separately. TC42 is comprised of 11 Participating Countries, 21 Observer Countries and Liaisons with 23 other standards developing organizations. There are over 100 experts within its 12 acting Working Groups and Joint Working Groups.

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Published Standards

ISO 14524: 2009

Photography – Electronic still picture cameras- Methods for measuring opto-electronic conversion functions (OECFs).

2nd Edition
Published 2009-02-15

Scope
This International Standard specifies methods for the measurement of opto-electronic conversion functions (OECFs) of electronic still-picture cameras whose output is encoded as a digital image file. The OECF is defined as the relationship between the focal plane log exposures or scene log luminances, and the digital output levels of an opto-electronic digital image capture system.

This International Standard applies to both monochrome and colour electronic still-picture cameras.

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New Members and Elections

The SMB has approved Daryl Hunt (Eastman Kodak Company) to serve as SMB Chair for a two-year term effective 2009-02-11.

The SMB has approved Phil Wychorski (Orion Standards LLC) to serve as IT2 Chair.

Stuart Gordon from the Eastman Kodak Company is replacing Michael Smalter on IT2, TC42, WG3, JWG21 and JWG24.

Iraj Sodagar of Microsoft Corporation is replacing Robert Rossi on IT2, IT10, WG18, AHG12234-2, JWG20, JWG22 and JWG23.

Mitamura Katsuaki of Suga Test Instruments (Japan) has joined TC42, WG5 and TG3.

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New Ballots

ISO/NP 12234-1

(3rd Ed) Electronic still picture imaging — Removable memory — Part 1: Basic removable-memory model

Scope:
This part of ISO 12234 specifies a basic removable-memory reference model for digital electronic still picture cameras. The reference model includes image file formats for storing image data and metadata, filing system requirements for storing and retrieving the image files on the removable memory, and media profiles that are specific to a given storage technology. The reference model allows the image data and metadata to be interchanged among the various components of an electronic imaging system by using the removable storage media.

Ballot begins 2009-01-19
Ballot closes 2009-04-27

ISO/NP 12231

(3rd Edition) Photography – Electronic still picture imaging – Vocabulary Scope

This International Standard defines terms used in electronic still picture imaging.

Ballot begins: 2009-01-15
Ballot closes: 2009-04-15

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12th Annual Spotlight Reception & Leadership Award

Be the lucky recipient of a Kodak Digital Picture Frame!

Wednesday, March 4th
Las Vegas Hilton, Ballroom G
6:00 to 8:00 pm

Join I3A for our annual tradition, and enjoy delicious cuisine, networking opportunities with the innovators and insiders of the imaging industry, and find out firsthand who will receive I3A's prestigious 2009 Leadership Award.

Thanks to the generosity of the Eastman Kodak Company, one fortunate person will take home a fabulous door prize, a Kodak Easyshare W1020 high quality Digital Photo Frame.

There is no charge to attend, but advance registration is required.

RSVP Online Now!

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I3A Community

Share Your Best Shots With I3A

The I3A community is stocked with great photographers and people who appreciate great photography. A new feature of the I3A Web site is a place for I3A members to show and share their favorite shots. Members are especially invited to submit photos taken at I3A events. Send your photos to editor@i3a.org.

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Member Resources

The MarketPlace is a service for I3A members. There you will find I3A's publications, including white papers, Initiative specifications and standards, most available free to members. You will also find special offers on products and services available only to I3A members.

Click here to access the MarketPlace.

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I3A Job Board

The I3A Jobs Web site has seen a great deal of activity since its inclusion on the I3A Public Web site in October 2008. I3A Staff has received several inquiries from students seeking Internship opportunities in the imaging industry. Intern programs are a great way for Member Companies to recruit the best and brightest students to become a part of your team.

Current Job Openings:

Imaging Scientist, MediaTek USA Inc.
Imaging Quality Scientist, MediaTek USA Inc.

We are encouraging Member Companies to submit Intern Positions on the Jobs Web site. Posting is fast and easy. For more information contact Shannon Taylor.

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Imaging Technology Briefs

A full listing of imaging technology briefs can be found online.

ANSI Announces Dynamic New Webstore Features
ANSI has introduced several new features on webstore.ansi.org, a website for the purchase and download of U.S. and other national, regional or international standards. Now users will experience increased speed and usability through added features like auto-complete for document number searches, RSS feeds, and e-mail-a-friend functionality.

International Standard Facilitates Home Networks for Devices, Computers, and Operating Systems
Networks that connect televisions, cell phones, computers, and other devices are becoming increasingly common in the homes of tech savvy families. A new standard published by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission provides guidelines for Universal Plug and Play devices to assure compatibility and seamless connectivity.

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Upcoming Standards Meetings

To arrange to attend any of these meetings, please register on the members’
Web site or contact the Standards Department at i3astds@i3a.org. Meetings without a named location are conference calls.

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Industry Events

As a service to its members, I3A provides a listing of events affecting the imaging industry. A complete listing can be found online.

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We distribute our newsletter around the 15th day of each month with a content deadline the week before. Please send your news for consideration in our newsletter. To share your comments about this newsletter or to submit information, send a message to Editor@I3A.org.

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