The purposes of the Consortium are to support the advancement of information technology in the field of networking, graphics and user interfaces by evolving the World Wide Web toward a true information infrastructure, and to encourage cooperation in the industry through the promotion and development of standard interfaces in the information environment known as the "World Wide Web." The roles of MIT, ERCIM, Keio University (KEIO), and Beihang University (BEIHANG) are to provide the vendor-neutral architectural, engineering and administrative leadership required to make this work. The Consortium began operation October 1, 1994.
The Consortium is financially self-supporting through membership fees. Membership in the Consortium is open to any operating organization agreeing to the terms of this Appendix 1 that executes a Consortium Member Agreement. Initial memberships are for a period of one (1) year beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter in which the member joins. If the organization is itself a consortium, user society, or otherwise has members or sponsors, the rights and privileges granted under this agreement extend only to the paid employees of the organization, not to the members or sponsors.
Until April 2005, W3C had two categories of Membership: Full and Affiliate. Both categories had identical privileges. At this time W3C Members are no longer divided into categories, however the applicable membership fees depend on the specific circumstances of the Member as described below.
Each Consortium Member is assigned to one Consortium Host based upon the Member's primary headquarters country. Members in Europe, Africa and the Middle East are assigned to ERCIM. Members in Japan and Korea are assigned to KEIO. Members in China are assigned to BEIHANG. All other members will be hosted by MIT.
Annual fees for W3C Membership are found on the schedule at http://www.w3.org/Consortium/fees. The fee applicable to the Member is dependent on circumstances particular to the Member. Initial memberships are for a period of one (1) year beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter in which the member joins. The total fee is due at the time the organization executes a Member Agreement. The due date in each subsequent year will be the first day of the calendar quarter during which the member joins; i.e., January 1st, April 1st, July 1st or October 1st. MIT's portion of the Membership Fee may be used by MIT for both direct and indirect costs of the Consortium, which may include the following: 1) The use of business class travel in accordance with MIT policy; 2) entertainment and alcohol expenses; 3) meetings, food, and beverage expenses; and 4) promotional, memorabilia, and public relations expenses.
If the organization has subsidiaries, the rights and privileges granted, and the obligations undertaken under this agreement shall extend to all subsidiaries the voting stock of which is directly or indirectly at least fifty percent (50%) owned or controlled by the organization.
The Consortium has an MIT-appointed Director (the "Director"), who acts as chief architect for all specifications produced by the Consortium. The present Director is Tim Berners-Lee, who is the original architect of the World Wide Web protocol and has been directing its development since its inception at CERN.
The Consortium has an ERCIM-appointed Deputy Director (the "ERCIM Deputy Director"), who acts as the lead technical person on the ERCIM staff.
The Consortium has a KEIO-appointed Deputy Director (the "KEIO Deputy Director"), who acts as the lead technical person on the KEIO staff.
The Consortium has a BEIHANG-appointed Deputy Director (the "BEIHANG Deputy Director"), who acts as the lead technical person on the BEIHANG staff.
The MIT Staff of the Consortium will consist of the Director, full-time engineers, and support personnel. The MIT Staff are in the employ of MIT and its Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and report to the Director. Employment of MIT Staff is solely at the discretion of MIT.
The ERCIM Staff of the Consortium will consist of the ERCIM Deputy Director, full-time engineers, and support personnel. The ERCIM Staff are in the employ of ERCIM and report to the ERCIM Deputy Director. Employment of ERCIM Staff is solely at the discretion of ERCIM.
The KEIO Staff of the Consortium will consist of the KEIO Deputy Director, full-time engineers, and support personnel. The KEIO staff are in the employ of KEIO and report to the KEIO Deputy Director. Employment of KEIO Staff is solely at the discretion of KEIO.
The BEIHANG Staff of the Consortium will consist of the BEIHANG Deputy Director, full-time engineers, and support personnel. The BEIHANG staff are in the employ of BEIHANG and report to the BEIHANG Deputy Director. Employment of BEIHANG Staff is solely at the discretion of BEIHANG.
The Consortium's technical staff shall coordinate through W3C management (W3M).
MIT Consortium activities are administered by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), and the Consortium Director reports to the Director of CSAIL.
ERCIM Consortium activities are administered within ERCIM, and the ERCIM Deputy Director reports to the Director of the Consortium on technical and Consortium administrative matters, and to the Director of Development of ERCIM on all other administrative matters.
KEIO Consortium activities are administered by KEIO, and the KEIO Deputy Director reports to the Director of the Consortium on technical and Consortium administrative matters, and to the Dean of KEIO University on all other administrative matters.
BEIHANG Consortium activities are administered by BEIHANG, and the BEIHANG Deputy Director reports to the Director of the Consortium on technical and Consortium administrative matters, and to the President of BEIHANG University on all other administrative matters.
A Steering Committee sets overall policy and provides strategic guidance and review of the Consortium's activities. The committee members are: the Director of MIT's CSAIL; an MIT-appointed Chairman of the Consortium; an MIT-appointed Director of the Consortium; and one representative each from ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG. Inasmuch as MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG are conducting research on many aspects of the information infrastructure, a technical committee shall be established to facilitate the links between MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, BEIHANG, and other research worldwide, to the activities of the Consortium. These links will take place primarily through the technical workshops described in Section 12.
MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG will collaborate with other organizations in the development of the Consortium protocols. Aspects of the Consortium reference implementation may be developed by our collaborators under various cooperative arrangements.
Member organizations may volunteer to contribute staff on short term assignment to MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, or BEIHANG for specific implementation efforts sponsored by the Consortium. If MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, or BEIHANG has the resources to accept such staff, the visitors will be provided with unsalaried MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, or BEIHANG appointments as Visiting Engineers. For the portion of their time assigned to Consortium activities, visitors will take their technical direction from the Director if at MIT, the ERCIM Deputy Director if at ERCIM, the KEIO Deputy Director at KEIO, or the BEIHANG Deputy Director at BEIHANG.
MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG shall establish a committee (the "Advisory Committee"), which shall establish procedures for the Consortium's review process, review annual plans, assess Consortium progress, and suggest future directions for the Consortium.
Each member organization is entitled to appoint one individual to the Advisory Committee.
The Advisory Committee will meet approximately twice per year. Meetings for other activities are scheduled as they are needed, and need not take place at MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, or BEIHANG.
All proposals for new Consortium standards shall go through the process detailed in the then-current World Wide Web Consortium Process Document as approved by the Director (the "Process Document"). The current version of the Process Document, which may be modified from time to time as approved by the Advisory Committee and Director, exists at http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Process, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Consortium activities and communications are performed primarily using the World Wide Web and electronic mail. Network connectivity to MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG should be viewed as a requirement for adequate participation in Consortium activities, including the functions of the Advisory Committee. MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG will provide information in tangible form only at the discretion of the Director.
The Consortium will support a repository of software and related documentation for such purposes as proof-of-concept, interoperability testing, and facilitating the work of the Consortium. The contents of this repository will be determined by the Director based upon the needs and desires of the Consortium and its member organizations as tempered by resource constraints. Software will be distributed pursuant to the then-current W3C Software Notice and License (which exists at http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/copyright-software). Specific exceptions can be made upon approval of the Director, with the advice of the Advisory Committee.
For software that is being actively maintained the Consortium will provide mechanisms by which bug reports can be submitted. The Consortium will provide mechanisms by which the status and correction of a bug can be obtained.
Member organizations can incorporate software and documentation made available by the Consortium into products at any time after the materials have been released to the Consortium. Member organizations shall not adopt or incorporate such releases into products prior to release to Consortium Members. Materials are considered released upon distribution to Members by the Consortium or upon being identified as a Consortium release and being made accessible over the Consortium network.
Software and documentation made available by the Consortium may include contributions from Members or non-members ("Contributed Software"), however the Consortium shall not be responsible for maintaining Contributed Software. The release of Contributed Software by the Consortium shall be solely at the discretion of the Director.
Contributed Software will be accepted only if the submitter represents that it has sufficient right, title and interest to allow the Consortium to use and distribute the software, however ALL CONTRIBUTED SOFTWARE SHALL BE PROVIDED "AS IS." THE CONSORTIUM, MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, AND BEIHANG MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, NOR THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH CONTRIBUTED SOFTWARE WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY THIRD PARTY PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, TRADEMARKS OR OTHER RIGHTS.
In general, all materials distributed by the Consortium will be distributed pursuant to the then-current W3C Software Notice and License (the current version of which currently exists at http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/copyright-software-19980720). Specific exceptions can be made, upon approval of the Director at the advice of the Advisory Committee.
The Consortium will not attempt to acquire or maintain hardware platforms produced by Members, but will attempt to have a reasonable selection of platforms. All hardware and software acquisitions will be at the discretion of MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG. The Consortium will not be responsible for ensuring that prototype or released software operates correctly on any particular hardware or system configuration, but will attempt to ensure portability of such software to a variety of systems.
The amount of Member fees paid in excess of that amount needed to cover the direct and indirect costs of the Consortium will be allocated for innovative Consortium work as determined by the Director at the advice of the Advisory Committee.
The Consortium will sponsor an annual conference, open to the public, to promote the exchange of technical information about the World Wide Web. Also workshops will be held in various technical areas such as privacy and authentication, reliability, computer communication, semantics, and so forth as deemed necessary and will include experts from MIT, ERCIM, KEIO, and BEIHANG and the international technical community as deemed appropriate by the Director.