[Community] Concrete Example on somebody who would have joined NewOrg if it were there.

[Daniel Perry]

Brett:

I went to the ieee-isto website. It was not clear exactly what legal  
arrangement exists to provide working groups or "projects" (like  
Liberty Alliance) with liability protection. It is likely an  
indemnification agreement. Keep in mind that an indemnification  
agreement won't stop someone from suing you. Further, an  
indemnification agreement is only as strong as the party willing to  
indemnify you. IC was set up in such a lightweight form that I don't  
see how any such indemnification agreement (which, you may recall, was  
rejected in the deliberative process) would be of any help.

And I am still unclear - what conduct would working groups engage in  
that would expose them to any liability that could not be handled by  
forming an independent entity?

Dan Perry

===========


http://www.ieee-isto.org/support.html#q1

Formation Assistance

In conjunction with legal counsel:

1) Develop bylaws and/or operating procedures

2) Formulate agreements between the IEEE-ISTO and the group to  
formally establish the group as an entity, or program of the IEEE- 
ISTO. Groups enjoy the legal protections of operating within a legally  
incorporated, non-profit, 501(c)(6) organization, including insurance  
and other protections.


http://www.ieee-isto.org/about.html

EEE-ISTO Overview

The IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO)  
was established on 1 January 1999 as a not-for-profit corporation, tax  
exempt under Section 501(c)(6) of the U.S. tax code. The IEEE-ISTO is  
governed by its own Board of Directors, Bylaws, and Articles of  
Incorporation. The organization is affiliated with the IEEE, and the  
IEEE Standards Association.

The IEEE-ISTO offers industry groups (e.g., consortia, special  
interest groups, alliances, forums, working groups) an innovative and  
flexible operational forum and support for development and post- 
development standards and technology development activities. The IEEE- 
ISTO operates as an umbrella organization to provide the legal forum  
for industry groups to operate, without the need to incorporate  
themselves as a legal entity. Programs of the IEEE-ISTO enjoy the  
legal protections and insurance benefits of operating within an  
incorporated, fully insured, non-profit organization.

The IEEE-ISTO enables industry groups to define their unique rules and  
procedures (e.g., scope and nature of technical program, membership  
(dues, categories), voting, consensus requirements, and structure) to  
build a foundation tailored to the technology, the market, the  
participants, the required time-frame, and the financial and human  
resources available to achieve their goals.

Groups organized within the IEEE-ISTO are able to develop and publish  
their outputs on their own or through the IEEE-ISTO. The resulting  
publications, standards, and specifications of each program can then  
be submitted, as appropriate, to other standards bodies for approval  
or adoption (e.g., IETF, ISO, IEC, IEEE, ISO/IEC JTC1, W3C). Documents  
and technologies developed may be distributed as freely as the  
individual industry groups require and fund.
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